Rising Apostle
by MaleficMistress
Summary: Hidan is a young orphan under the care of a widowed pig farmer, and is known for being Yugakure's trouble child. On top of tourists, and up coming Chunin Exams, a mysterious monk approaches him with information of a strange and ancient deity called Jashin; morphing and changing his views on shinobi life entirely, and giving him the direction in life he desperately sought. R&R!
1. He's Just A Child

"Hell no!" The older man stood firmly, and folded his arms bitterly across his chest. His tired blue grey eyes glared at the younger woman who stood before him, her hand wrapped around the wrist of a young toddler who seems confused by the whole ordeal.

"Kenji-san please, he has no where else to go. He's all alone and nobody here can afford to take him. We've all been pitching in just to help feed him for crying out loud." She looked at the other man desperately, still holding onto the boy who was beginning to grow frustrated with being held still for that long while the grown ups bickered. He tried to pull away from the woman, and made a slight disgruntled noise, but when he couldn't free himself, he grew still again, a frown remaining on his pale round face.

Kenji glanced down at the young child, who met his gaze in return. His silver hair was tousled to all sides of his head, and his body was covered with old cuts from twigs were he had fallen down, and dried mud. His clothes were visibly worn and he looked to be underweight. Not enough to be severely threatening but visible enough that he could see why the village tossed out scraps to him.

Before he could say anything else on the matter, the bright magenta gaze narrowed and glared at him, mimicking the look that Kenji unconsciously wore. The older man huffed a bit and looked back up to the woman who had grown quiet, as if interrupting the stare down would shatter whatever chance she had to him agreeing to take him in.

Finally her answer was a heavy sigh and he ran a hand through his own grey ropy locks. With a low groan he looked back down to the boy and shifted his weight to one side of his leg. "Fine, fine, I'll tell you what; he can eat here when he's hungry and he can sleep in the barn. He isn't _staying_ here though, I'm not his damned father."

Although it wasn't the answer she quite wanted, she knew it was as good as she was going to get. Ever since his wife had passed away, Kenji had kept to himself at his pig farm in the back of Yugakure. He was never really the social type to begin with but it had only gotten worse over the years. In all honesty the village secretly hoped that asking him to help with the young orphaned boy, he would at least have a distraction from the death of his wife.

"Alright Kenji-san thank you...I don't think the little guy will give you much trouble, he just needs a bit of love and care." She offered the man a slight smile, trying to be optimistic but it seemed that the pig farmer was in no mood to be humored. He grumbled for a moment to himself before finally speaking more out.

"Bit of love and care...damned bullshit is what it is."

It seemed that something with the statement clicked with the young toddler. His eyes grew bright and a smile spread over his face before he placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest a bit. "Bullsheet!" The woman's eyes grew wide at the curse, as if she hadn't heard such a thing before in her life. She stammered a moment and looked at Kenji as if asking what to do.

Kenji however seemed unfazed by the curse and nodded his head, as if praising the child for the foul language. "Yea that's right it is bullshit, now get your ass inside and we'll see what you can eat."

With pride still plastered on his face, it was as if a leash had been unclasped. The boy raced through the house faster than lightning towards the couch, the large piece of furniture looking pretty comfortable to him.

Kenji spun around on his heel and went to grab him by the shoulder, but missed him by an inch when he raced by him. "Now wait a minute don't you plant your dirty ass on my clean couch! Goddamnit boy!" At least his feet weren't tracking dirt on the old worn down hardwood floors.

The woman at the door seemed to be in thought, as if unsure as to whither or not this was a good idea after all. "Kenji-san please try to be patient with him, he's just a child."

The farmer snorted and turned back towards her, letting the child lay down on his couch for now, despite the dirt that was crumbling from his shirt. "Woman, I'm sixty two years old and you're throwing a damned three year old at me! I ain't got the patients for this...dammit what do I call this little imp so I can rein him back in?"

The woman sighed again but was at least thankful he would make some sort of an effort with feeding him when he was hungry. "His name is Hidan."

A nod was her answer before the farmer sent her on her way and shut the door behind her. Turning towards the child; who was now curled up on the couch cushion like a small house cat, he walked over to him and wrapped his hand around his upper arm, pulling him off of the couch. "Hey, hey, hey now, get down from there. You're filthy and getting dirt all over my couch, look at that." He pointed a finger towards the small spot of dust, making sure the boy understood what he was talking about.

Hidan followed his finger with his eyes and looked at the spot for a few moments, eventually snapping his gaze back to the older man's face and frowning. "Bullsheet!"

Sighing loudly, Kenji shook his arm, causing his whole body to rock a bit, to punctuate the rant. "No! Stay off that couch until you're clean you understand me? Now come on get a bath and you can eat." The boy frowned a little more at the shake but let himself be dragged along behind the grumpy adult. To him he just wanted to lay down for a nap. He had been back and forth between houses with that woman all day and wanted to nap for a while, now he was being screamed at by some cranky old man who was stingy with his couch.

Turning a corner in the hallway, he opened the door to the bathroom and shoved the boy inside. The floors were relatively clean aside from a few shirts that had been tossed in a hamper in the corner. The mirror had a few water spots along the surface and the sinks were covered in razors both old and new. The smell of old soap and some sort of odd spice lingered in the room, and there was a large blue towel hanging across a rack on the wall.

Stepping inside of the bathroom behind the boy he walked over to the bathtub and dropped to one knee, to be more on the child's level. "Alright come over here, you're doing this yourself. Now c'mere and look."

At the order, Hidan trotted over to his side and knelt down a bit near the bathtub, trying to see what Kenji was trying to show him.

Seeing he was at least paying attention Kenji turned on the hot and cold water both to get the temperature at least to luke warm. The water splashed and rushed out of the silver faucet, starting to fill the small tub while the young child watched it, somewhat fascinated by it.

"Alright, under here, is something to wash yourself with, you can use that soap in that box there alright?" Taking a small cloth he laid it over the side of the tub before grabbing a bottle of shampoo. "You use a _little_ of this here, put it on your head and scrub it good. I'm not kidding when I say you're a mess. A _little_ you hear? This shit ain't cheap and it goes fast."

Hidan accepted the bottle as well, looking at it for a bit, granted he somewhat understood what he was saying as far as the tasks to do. Satisfied by the child's expression, Kenji reached over and shut the water off, not wanting it to get too full, otherwise the boy could splash around and soak his whole bathroom. "Alright, be swift, be thorough. I'm gonna get some food going since it's dinner time...hope you like pork kid. There's a lot of it, pigs and all."

Turning away from the boy he started out of the bathroom, almost feeling the curious gaze in his back while Hidan watched him leave. He was still deciding what he thought of the grumpy pig farmer. Though he yelled and didn't seem to want him there, he wasn't really being mean to him either. He was even offering him meat...meat he liked. With a tiny smile, he decided that the man was at least okay, and began stripping himself down before stepping into the water to bath himself.


	2. What He Wants

By the time his bath was over, he could smell the scent of freshly made pork. The smoky, sweet spices used in the sauce assaulted his senses, making his mouth water, and his stomach growl. After jerking the plug from the tub, he leap out of the draining water and rushed out of the bathroom, forgetting all about a towel or even clothes. Water dripped from the tips of his hair as he raced toward the kitchen, leaving behind small puddles of water from his pounding feet.

Skidding to a hard stop, he stood in front of the older man who held a plate of freshly cooked baby-back ribs. Kenji's face twisted into an expression of utter confusion and shock, before it seemed to sink in that yes this child was standing right in front of him, bare ass naked and unashamed. "What the hell are you doing!?" he half yelled.

Hidan's head tilted to the side as his own face scrunched up into a frown, almost as if the answer should have been obvious. "I'm hungry!" He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed a bit, not happy that the man was once again yelling at him. He had always been used to the more gentle voices of the village, but this man wasn't like them at all. He made his dislikes plain and clear.

Kenji sighed once more and shook his head, setting the plates on the side of the stove. "Ah no, no, no, you go get dried off, and some damned clothes on you little hoodlum." He paused however and seemed to mull over something...the boy didn't have any other clothes. However he scolded himself for even thinking about it in the first place. He wasn't the boy's father and it wasn't his concern.

Hidan huffed once more but turned around and raced back through the house to the bathroom. Glancing around for a moment, he finally found the towel that had been left out for him to dry off with. Snatching it from it's resting place on the side of the sink, he wrapped it around his body and began to wriggle around, trying to get his skin dry. He wanted to eat, not sit here and waste time with having to get his damned clothes on.

Eventually the task of drying off was complete and he snatched up his clothes, running back towards the kitchen as he slid his shirt on over his head first. As he entered the kitchen, Kenji turned around and spied that he was still half naked and sighed heavily. "Damnit boy what did I just tell you!?"

Finally Hidan glared up at him as he started to hop up and down to get his pants to slid on over his still somewhat damp legs. "I'm hungry damnit! I can get dressed and eat at the same time!" He watched the older man shake his head in exasperation before setting the plates down on top of the table.

"You little shit, here eat up while it's hot." Taking a seat at the table, he watched as Hidan followed suit, having to sit more so on his knees so he could reach his plate. He was a pretty tiny little guy so far, but that could be fixed with a good diet, which red meats usually were.

He watched a while longer as Hidan took a large bite from the meat, his eyes watering a bit from the steam hitting his eyes. It was almost a sad sight to see, Kenji never really liked to see children going hungry but then again in the world of shinobi there were battles, battles meant death, and parents were among them, leaving children to fend for themselves. It was unavoidable unfortunately. Subtly the curiosity hit him. Just where was this boys parents? He was still very young and he didn't know of anybody that looked like him. Had he been abandoned? Were the just dead? The possibilities were endless.

It didn't take very long before the boys plate was completely cleared. At least he liked the meat. Finally his eyes closed and his mouth stretched widely in a long yawn. Kenji turned his head a bit and glanced out of the kitchen window. It was dark outside, so he was sure it was time for the boy to sleep. It was fairly warm outside, so he could safely stick him in the barn without worrying about him being too cold.

Standing up from where he sat he sighed and went through the back of the house towards an old closet in the wall. Sliding the door open, he reached in and grabbed a pillow and small thin blanket. Tucking them under his arm he returned to the kitchen and passed the supplies over to Hidan, who accepted them with a slightly confused expression. Kenji merely folded his arms and stood up straighter, wanting to seem disconnected and uncaring. "Alright here's how it's gonna be so listen up. You can eat here but you'd better pay me back with some work if I ask you...understand?"

Hidan listened to his expectations and didn't really like the thought of having to work for something but the meat he had received was pretty good and his stomach didn't hurt so badly anymore. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad agreement? He nodded his head once and squeezed the blanket in his arms a little bit, still staring up at the older man who seemed to have more to clear up with him.

'Well at least he seems compliant enough with a firm hand,' Kenji thought. He could see pretty plainly the boy might be a bit rebellious with some disciplinary issues, but he acted as though he could still be reasoned with, which was what counted in his book. Kenji could put up with attitude so long as he earned his keep. "Alright, you sleep here, then you sleep in the barn. It's not very comfortable but you'll be dry and warm. C'mon with me."

Starting forward he opened the door and let the boy trot ahead of him with the supplies still clutched tightly in his arms. Kenji eventually made it to the barn with him, and slid the door open, revealing the band of pigs and pinned up hogs that were laying down together in tight bunches. Hidan wrinkled his nose a bit and shook his head. "They stink."

Kenji rolled his eyes a bit and placed a hand on the boys head, ruffling his hair semi-fondly. "Well so do you." At that Hidan whipped his head away form his hand and glared spitefully, his eyes narrowing.

"What's that about I took a bath like you said!" A chuckle was his answer, but he honestly didn't even see how that was remotely funny. He just insulted him! Kenji walked past him and moved towards thin ladder towards the side of the barn and placed his hand on the wall, patting it slightly. "Simmer down you hoodlum. Now here, climb on up in the loft, it'll be warmer and you won't have to fight a hog for that blanket."

Hidan still wore the frown but grabbed the wooden ladder and scaled up to the loft relatively quickly. Bouncing up into the thick stacks of hay that was scattered and tucked along the ground and sides, he found a small spot in the corner and tucked the pillow under his head. Pulling the blanket around his body tightly, he snuggled up against the hay and sighed softly, ready to go to bed after such a long day.

By the time the following morning arrived, Hidan's eyes began to peel open. He looked around through his messy hair as it slid in front of his face. He blew upward a bit to toss some of the locks aside, dully noting that there were bits of hay sticking out of his head. Sighing a bit he sat up, letting the blanket fall from his shoulders, before starting to pick and pull at the hay, trying to clean his hair. He did take the time to note how soft it felt. Guessed that was what shampoo was for.

He perked up a bit when he heard the barn doors being pulled open. Smiling slightly, he remembered the older man from the previous night that had taken him in. Rushing out from underneath the blankets he crawled towards the ladder and grabbed the ends to slid down. However his leg managed to bump a loose bail of hay hard enough to send a few flakes falling down below him, followed by a loud curse.

"Hey! Ah damn-what the hell!?" Blinking slightly, Kenji's head shot up to the wide eyed child with a guilty expression. Hidan smiled sheepishly and waved a tiny hand, chuckling nervously. "Good morning Kenji-san," he squeaked.

The farmer seemed none too amused as he sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Damnit get your ass down from there, if you wanna help go throw this to the horse out back."

Hidan tilted his head a bit before finally swinging his body on the ladder and sliding down. Moving over to the scattered bits of hay, he scooped them up in his arms and began walking towards the now opened barn door, following the fence until he found where the horse was standing. Tossing it up and over, he watched as the rather large animal walked over and began to bite and munch at what was to it a very tasty breakfast.

Kenji soon joined his side and looked over to the gelding that seemed pleased to have a handy snack. "What 'cha think of Kon?"

Hidan turned his head to look up at Kenji, before turning back to the animal, unsure what to think. "He's big...and blue."

The older man chuckled slightly and nodded his head. "Well that colour is pretty well known if you've been a farmer for a few years. Blue roan is what they call it. Now as for his breed, well...can you guess?" Probably not, the kid was only three for crying out loud, but might as well teach him now. His answer was confirmed when the boy shook his head, wearing a confused expression on his face. Either he was in the process of learning or wondering why the hell he was being told this.

"Clydesdale. Good for pulling, that's why they're so big." He glanced over to the animal as the massive head lifted up to looked at the humans before once again dipping back down to the hay, finding it more interesting.

Hidan nodded his head once more, seeming to take it in. It was some sort of information that may or may not be useful in the future but might as well know it. He watched as Kenji shifted his weight to one leg and finally sighed.

"Alright now, time to pay me back for your food. I want you to go feed the pigs there on that side of the barn...just watch out for the big hairy ones. Those are hogs. Difference is, they have teeth and will bite the shit out of you if they can."

Hidan simply nodded his head for now and jogged beside of the older man to see just what he was supposed to do. He watched as he was given a large metal scoop and bucket. He looked at the tool for a moment before looking back up to the farmer. "Um...what do I do with this?" What did he want? For him to throw them the bucket?

Kenji sighed a bit and pointed to a bag that was crammed in the corner. "It's called grain. Also if I happen to have any left overs I usually come out here and just toss it to them. So fill the bucket to the top and put it in that bin over there. When you're done, come inside and you can have breakfast before I turn you out."

Another nod was his answer as Hidan picked up the bucket with only a bit of trouble since it was about half his size. Walking over to the bag he began scooping the feed as instructed before having to half carry half drag the heavy load to where they bin was. However the hassle began when the group of pigs began to crowd and try to shove him.

Glaring a bit he pulled the bucket closer to his front and set it on the ground. "Hey! ...Stop that!" he yelled. He wasn't gonna be knocked around by a group of dumb animals. That was just ridiculous. However the animals persisted to try to move closer to him, each trying to shove each other and the small boy that stood between them and their food.

Once again he glared at the animals but grabbed the bucket once more, starting to drag it the rest of the way towards the bin, giving a loud yell, and an occasional kick whenever a pig would get too uppity and bump against him. It seemed to take forever but eventually he made it to the bin and tipped the bucket over, spilling the grain along the wood.

The pigs finally seemed to forget about him and began to swarm the bin as if they hadn't eaten in months, which was impossible given how fat they looked. A heavy sigh was released before he began to drag the now much lighter bucket towards the barn. Placing it in the corner where he had taken it from, he turned and began to run towards the house for the promised breakfast.

The meal had been fairly simple, a few strips of bacon and a couple of eggs and milk. Well, it may have been simple to most, but to someone like Hidan it was a once in a while gourmet. Before the woman that had brought him to Kenji caught him, he had been running around the village stealing whatever food he could find. It wasn't hard but sometimes he did slip up and get caught. Mostly a verbal scolding and shooing away was the worst they did. The people in the village never really seemed to get angry...it was almost inhuman.

He watched as the old pig farmer stood up and adjusted his shirt collar, flipping the stiff fabric downward so that it folded more neatly. Eventually he looked at the silver haired child and nodded firmly. "Well that's it then, out you go. You can come back tonight when you get hungry if your willing to work it off. Deal?"

Hidan stood up from the table and nodded once understandingly. "Yea Kenji-san...umm, see you tonight then?" He turned and walked out of the small kitchen and through the door leading outside. He glanced over towards the livestock as the animals went about their own routines for the day. Grunting and squealing, shoving each other around and getting dirty. It was just daily life to them.

He was pretty sure he liked Kenji. The man didn't seem to really like him but he didn't seem to dislike him either. Just treated him like a child that happened to be a bit of a trouble maker. Walking down the roads as he always did he glanced around at all of the people in the village. They smiled to each other, and spoke in high pitched friendly tones, waving and laughing. It was strange how happy they always seemed. They always talked about things like loved ones, something he never really understood.

He had no clue about his parents. However when he did ask anybody that may have had a clue, all they could say was the couple were traveling shinobi. His mother had apparently had him in the village, but by the time he was being returned to her, she was no longer there. She had just forgotten him.

Perhaps that was what shinobi were like though. Most people that weren't shinobi always said things like how dangerous they were, or how blood thirsty some of them could get. It always fascinated him and he wanted to learn more about how to become a shinobi. Whenever he could he would always wander near the training grounds, watching the other hot water ninja sparing with kunai knives and swift kicks and bounds. Their movements were beautiful, and precise. He just knew that was what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a shinobi, and he wanted to be a good shinobi. He would work hard for it as soon as he was old enough. However for now he wasn't. All he could do was press his nose up against the glass and take notes.

The day passed on by slowly. Hidan had occupied himself with wandering the insides of the village, watching the shinobi training with each other. By the time they had stopped the sun was starting to set. He glanced over towards the light, the orange rays tainting the sky a light lavender with pink blotches. It always looked so nice over the trees, especially through the steam of the hot springs that surrounded them. He liked his village well enough. He watched travelers come in and out to visit the hot springs and soak away their troubles, and they always seemed to dislike the place where they came from in the first place. Be it politics, no family, or what have you, they all found reasons to leave their homes. He could imagine doing such a thing.

Shaking away the thoughts from his head, he turned towards where the farm was and began to run as fast as he could. He was excited to get to go see Kenji and he was excited to get food in his stomach. Granted he wasn't as starving as the previous day, he was just craving something to hold him over for the night.

By the time he reached the house, Kenji was standing in a large corn field beside of Kon the horse. He wore large leather straps around his body which was attached to some sort of plow that was sticking up out of the ground. Both were covered in sweat and bits of grim. He jogged down to where they were and called out to him. "Kenji-san!? What are you doing?"

The farmer lifted his head up and nodded politely towards the small child running towards him."Plowing the fields you hoodlum what's it look like?"

The large horse also noticed and turned his head lazily towards Hidan, nickering softly. The silver haired boy lifted his hand up and patted the animals nose a bit before looking back at Kenji. "Why?"

He watched the older man sigh heavily and shake his head, as if he couldn't believe he would even ask such a thing. Well damn he just wanted to know! Why couldn't he just get corn the way the rest of the village did? He stood patiently with a confused expression before the older man began unbuckling the straps on the tired horse. "Because it's cheaper to plant your own food and feed yourself for four months then it is to shop every week. Saves money, something I ain't got a lot of."

Hidan tilted his head slightly. How could he not have that much? He had a nice house and a lot of land, livestock. Didn't he have a job or something like the rest of the village? "Why?" As soon as the question was asked he watched the man lift the old hat from his head, lifting it up, and bringing it down to clip the top of Hidan's head. It didn't really hurt him as much as it just surprised him, making him yelp and jump backwards. "Hey! What the hell did you do that for!?"

Bringing the hat back to his head, the older man grunted and pulled the last bits of harness from the horse. "Don't be such a shit head you hoodlum! Why, why, why, because that's the fucking way it is that's why. Someone tells you something don't question it. Just accept it as is, goddamnit."

Hidan glared up at the older man and growled slightly. Well jeez a kid couldn't even ask a question without getting nailed! However he blinked when the older man passed him the rope attached the the horses halter. "Now take this and follow me to his paddock. You can turn him out and we'll go eat."

Hidan nodded his head a bit and began walking with the older man, the large horse following behind obediently, not minding too much being pulled around by the tiny boy. Hidan walked silently for a while but suddenly seemed to think on something. He looked up at the old farmer and tilted his head a bit. "Um, Kenji-san? Can I ask you something?"

The farmer turned to look at him and was at first irritable, but calmed his temper a bit seeing the legitimate concern on the boys face. "What is it?" He walked a few more steps quietly, his gaze dropping, as if he didn't know how to word it, before his eyes lifted back up to him. "I was watching some of the shinobi today...you know, out in the training grounds?"

A nod was his answer as he continued. "Well, I...how old do you have to be exactly before you join the academy? I want to be a shinobi...I think I could do it."

Kenji seemed to think on this for a moment, his eyes becoming distant. Hidan watched him carefully before stopping at the gate with the horse in hand. He had forgotten about letting it loose for now, he was too interested to see just what Kenji was thinking on. Or at least hear about it. Surely he'd tell him...any minute now. "Kenji-san?" he pressed.

The older man looked at him and shook his head heavily. "Hidan-kun, I'm gonna tell you something I don't think you're gonna want to hear. Give up on that right now. Just forget about it. Being a shinobi...it isn't worth it. It's not as great as it's cracked up to be and it's just too dangerous. Causes more problems than people need." Like he imagined, he watched the boys expression go from curious to angry.

"What!? Now wait just a minute, you don't think I can do it do you!? Yea it's dangerous it's supposed to be! You don't just go into battle and talk your way through shit you have to fight and risk your life for your home! Shinobi risk their lives everyday to fight! I want to fight too!" He was infuriated. Why on earth would Kenji tell him to give up on the one thing he wanted to do with himself? The village wasn't very fond of him because they knew he stole, had a foul mouth compared to the rest of the children, and was quicker to violence than they were. However it didn't mean he wouldn't fight for them just the same.

The older man shook his head and leaned back against the fence with his arms tightly folded. The subject wasn't easy for him to begin with. He knew the dangers of shinobi life and this boy, whither he could do it or not...he had no guidance was reckless. Even he could see that. He would get himself killed. "Why? Why on earth do you want to fight for this damned village? What on earth could you want to go out there and stick your neck on a chopping block for? What makes it so worth it?"

Hidan shook his head angrily and raised his voice even more so, quite close to flat out shrieking at the man. "Because it's all I have! I watch other shinobi train every single day! I want to do something that I can be good at! I can fight and I want to learn! What makes it worth it is the knowledge I am getting better at something that I love! I've always admired other shinobi, and how easily they will risk their lives for the sake of their homes and families, and I want to do it too!" He couldn't believe that the man would dare suggest for him to just throw his dream out the window.

After the temper tantrum, Kenji could only stare at him. His eyes were narrowed but not out of anger like Hidan had expected. No, in fact he seemed to be thinking over something else. Jeez did the man ever stop thinking!? How could someone have their head so full all the time? It would give him a headache if his mind constantly raked like that.

Finally after a long period of silence, the world around them starting to grow dark from the disappearing sunlight, Kenji spoke. "You really want to do all of this for the sake of fighting because you think you could be good at it, and to defend the village from rival shinobi?" A thrill seeker. Just what he was afraid of. Granted he hadn't expected the boy to really want to fight for the sake of some greater cause, he just hadn't really expected it to be a simple as the fact that he knew he could be a skilled fighter that could stand between the village and the enemy. "Hidan-kun...you..." He paused a moment and ran a hand across his forehead to wipe the sweat from his brow. The kid was quite the handful. "Alright look, if you want to go out there and rush to your death I guess I can't stop you. You wanna know when and how to get into that academy I'll tell you. First of all, you can start tomorrow if you really wanted to. Secondly, well basic requirements are these. First, love your village, help to preserve peace and prosperity. Second, have a mind that will not yield, be able to endure hard work and all that good bullshit. Third, be healthy in mind and body. Basically don't be a pussy and act like you want to do back flips for your village."

Hidan stared at him for the longest time, seeming to take in what he was saying. Could he really join tomorrow? Hell if he could he knew just what he would be doing! He wanted to join! If those were the requirements to get in by god he had it made! However it was then it dawned on his mind. How did Kenji know all of this? Was he a shinobi at some point? Was he a retired shinobi? "Kenji-san? How do you know all of this? Were you a shinobi?"

At that the older man turned away and sighed. "No...but my son was. He was about your age when he wanted...you know what? Fuck it, never mind. Get the horse put away, feed them like you did this morning and get your ass inside for dinner." Without giving him time to respond, Kenji marched towards the house, seeming to be grumbling under his breath.

Hidan sighed heavily and began to tug on the rope to bring the giant horses head down to his level. He couldn't believe Kenji had a son at some point. He guessed he was dead now due to shinobi life. Was that why he tried to discourage him from it? Was it...concern? Was the older man really that concerned for his safety and well being? It would be somewhat nice to think so. Unclasping the lead rope, he walked away from the horse and began to scoop in the feed as he had done so that morning. Once the task was finished, he turned and raced towards the house.


	3. A Rocky Start

Dinner had gone on the same as before, quiet and relatively boring, but the food made up for it. Kenji didn't speak again of the academy even though Hidan still had more questions. He refrained for now though after seeing pretty plainly Kenji did not approve. He wished he would since Kenji was really the only adult that he liked in the village. He wasn't very close to him at all but he was still the only adult in his life that he was starting to want there. It was someone to go to who would listen to him.

After dinner he was shooed out of the house again. However he didn't mind. After nights of sleeping between buildings and near the backs of houses to keep warm, a blanket in a hay loft was more than welcome. Moving inside of the barn he closed the doors behind him and turned towards the ladder that lead up to what might as well be called his bedroom. Climbing up into the loft, he grabbed his blanket and wrapped the fabric around his tiny frame, cuddling up with the pillow in his arms, his head resting on the corner. Sighing softly he felt his eyelids growing heavy before closing for good, the veil of sleep finally draping over his body and carrying him off into the realm of dreams.

The following morning he awoke to the sound of the pigs rustling around bellow him. His brow furrowing a bit, he kicked the blanket off of him and held onto the edge of the loft entrance. Dipping his upper half down and looking around, he spotted the pigs gathering near the barn doors, pawing and squealing to be released. Well at least he was awake early enough to make it to the academy...but he knew Kenji would bitch at him if he left without feeding first.

With a heavy sigh, he climbed down from the loft into the herd of pigs and began to wiggle his way through. Once he made it to the doors, he grabbed the handle and began pulling it open, the pigs starting to pour out, squealing and shoving each other out of the way so they could reach the destination faster. Taking the bucket he began the task of feeding once more, making sure to include the horse that stood near the gate, pacing back and forth and tossing his head in the air eagerly.

Once finished, he dragged the empty bucket over to its usual place. He started to turn away to run to where he knew the academy was, but paused when he spotted his reflection rippling from one of the water bins. His shirt was dirty and tattered and his pants had a large tear up the side of the left leg, almost completely exposing it. Bits of hay were sticking out of his hair which was tossed and tussled in all directions. His body was still clean from the deep scrubbing he did to himself, but the rest of him looked like a complete mess. Thinking about walking into a public place looking like that...it was somewhat embarrassing. Still, he supposed there wasn't anything he could do about it now, it wasn't like he had anything else he could just change into.

Rushing to where he knew the academy was, he began picking the bits of hay from his hair along the way, cursing lowly under his breath for not owning a brush like other kids seemed to. First thing he was doing was going shop lifting for a stupid brush! He paused mid sprint however when he spotted one of the little clothing shops opening up. He dashed behind one of the trees near the path and watched, a plan already forming in his mind. He didn't have the money to buy clothing, but he had gotten pretty good at swiping bits of food from people without them noticing. However, he knew this was different, this was bigger. He could easily be caught, and he didn't want to get into trouble before he could even step into the academy.

He glanced around, to make sure nobody else was yet around. Nobody seemed to be, perhaps he could do this. Pants and a shirt. Pants and a shirt were a must. Something simple and hardly noticeable. Taking a quick breath, he scurried over to the store and ducked inside. Thankful that the shop keeper seemed preoccupied with talking to one of the women of the village. Women always seemed to get easily distracted with conversation. Moving quietly through the little store, he began shuffling around until he spotted a pair of pants that looked like it would fit him. Taking another glance, to be sure that the women still had no clue he was in there, he reached up and took the pair of pants. Folding them up, he stuffed them inside of the leg of his pants, wiggling his leg around a bit until they wrapped securely around his thigh. Moving over once more, he swiped a small black shirt that looked about his size as well. Stuffing it inside of his shirt and the waist line of his pants, he turned and began scurrying towards the doors.

Wow, the women were still going at it, they hadn't even noticed him. Then again, perhaps if you aren't shinobi then you were just that unaware? Moving back to his original hiding spot behind the tree, he pulled off his shirt and switched it out with the new one. He was surprised by how good it smelled. It was also a size too big for him, but he supposed that was a good thing, he could have some time to grow into it. Taking a cautious glance, he then stripped himself of his pants. Unwrapping the new pants from the old, he stepped into them and pulled them up snugly. Aside from feeling slightly loose around the waist, and the legs being long enough to drag along the ground, they fit pretty well. However, it was then he realized he had made himself a few minutes late for the academy. Gasping slightly, he left the old clothes in the pile behind the tree, and rushed as fast as his legs could carry him.

By the time the classes were finished, the sun was at it's highest. It hadn't been too terrible as far as academics were concerned. In fact, he might even say he liked the geography aspects of it. He found himself even excited to tell Kenji of his first day. Rushing back towards the farm he could see Kenji out by the fences like he seemed to usually be. He wore the same hat as the day before, his brow was glistening with beads of sweat from where he had been hammering the nails in most of the day, trying to fix a bare patch before the pigs could destroy anymore of the brittle wood. It looked as though they had been gathering around that one spot, trying to shove it aside.

"Kenji-san! I'm back!" The older man paused in his hammering and sighed, shaking his head a bit and turning his back to him. "Good now get your ass over here and hold this for me."

Frowning, he stuck out his lip a bit in a pout before moving over to where Kenji was. Placing his hands on the board, he planted his feet and held it in place as tightly as he could. His wrists bounced and vibrated with each heavy blow the hammer dealt, but he managed to hold it fairly easily. He waited a few moments before pipping up once more. "So...I think I like geography."

He watched as the older man grunted a bit, shaking his head once more. "Well gee that's fucking great, now when you get attacked, you can educate your enemies with washed up battle tactics, that'll help."

Frowning once more, he looked up at the older man and barked back, fed up with how cranky he was all the time about everything. "You know what!? Worst comes to worst I'll beat someone over the head with a text book that might work even better!"

He waited for another smart ass comment but what he received wasn't what he really expected. Kenji actually laughed at him. It was more a low chuckle, but by god he was amused. Only Hidan didn't really understand what was so funny. He was pissed off yet again, and Kenji was just laughing at him. "What's so fucking funny!?" he demanded.

The farmer shook his head before moving away from the newly secured board. "You're such a shithead that's all. Now stop gripping and move on down, we have to go ahead and finish this or the hogs are gonna pick through this and let the pigs out." Hidan blinked once, tilting his head some as he moved to hold the next board. "What are hogs? Boys or something?"

Shaking his head as he moved down with him, Kenji grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the front of his pocket. Shaking the box downward once as a single cigarette slid up, he pulled it out with his teeth and crammed the pack back in the pocket. "No boy hogs have teeth, and sometimes they have tusks, they're not afraid to tear your ass up either so that's why I only have three here. Raise em from birth till they're four, then sell em' to the butcher get it? Good meat."

He listened intently as he watched the cigarette be lit, a thin layer of smoke raising up from the end. Finally the man began hammering in the next nail as Hidan nodded his head. "Oh," he said simply. "I didn't know there was a difference." A nod was his response as the nail was finally buried in the wood. "Well now you know. Agriculture, you'll learn a bit of that here just from being around me for too long. Depends on how long you wanna eat here." He was somewhat surprised the kid had come back at all. After all, he himself knew that he was old and bitter towards nearly everybody. Sure he had free food but he had figured making the kid do manual labor for it, and not holding back on his comments would chase him off. It sounded like the kid had about as much spite in him as Kenji did.

The years slowly passed by, Hidan was now eleven and had remained with Kenji, prior to the villages doubts that the old pig farmer raising a child would work out. The pair had grown fairly used to each other aside from the consistency of daily arguments. Hell at this rate it was just how they said hello, goodbye, and 'is dinner ready yet?'

However today he wasn't in the comfort of his foster home. No today he found himself in yet again, another disagreement with his teammates. They had been attempting a simple training match of ninjutsu versus taijutsu, but after the first few matches with the other boy on the team getting planted to the ground, Hidan had accused him of simply not trying.

Yuki, the kunoichi of the group, was standing off to the side with her arms tightly folded over her chest, her chocolate eyes glaring at the silver haired boy who always seemed to pick and fight with them. Yuki was about a year younger than Hidan. Her deep brown hair was pulled up in a small bun, pinned into place with a few pins. She wore a light blue kimono with a white trim, the Yugakiri headband fastened around her forehead. Typically she had a more gentle personality but the orphan boy had a way of getting everyone's tempers to flare. She watched as her poor teammate was once again getting ranted at for his short comings during the sparing match.

"I don't even know any ninjutsu and I can kick your ass! What the hell does that say about you!? If you'd just fucking try maybe you would stand more of a chance! You should be able to beat me! Why the fuck-"

He was cut off when his teammate, Takao, eventually raised his voice back at him, having enough of being yelled and cursed at. He didn't get why the Hidan had to be so vulgar about everything, or why his temper was always so short. "Oh get over yourself would you!? You're always up in everyone's faces, forcing them back, and taking cheap shots! I'm still learning ninjutsu which is more than can be said for you! You don't even know any! You can barely substitute!" Takao reached his hand up, and angrily swiped away some of the blue locks that fell around his eyes, blue meeting magenta in a fierce stare down.

Hidan was quick to scream back, especially when Takao stepped out of character and yelled back. Usually both parties just sat and let the other boy throw his fits at them, but this was getting personal. They didn't work together well and too much was always asked of them.

"Exactly! So why the hell can't you defend yourself against me!? I don't get what your fucking problem is! At least she puts up a fight!" His finger pointed towards Yuki, who scoffed and shook her head. She didn't want to be apart of this at all. "Don't bring me into this Hidan, why can't you just give him a break? He's still learning his techniques and like you seem to know, it's harder than taijutsu."

She was only mildly intimidated when his gaze locked with hers, the spite seeming to be aimed directly towards her. She never could tell if her teammate was just bitter or if his anger was directly towards them. He seemed so spiteful towards everyone but it always sounded so personal.

"It doesn't matter! If you're facing an opponent, they aren't gonna sit back and wait for you to get your shit together! You either do it, or you die! We're shinobi! Figure it out! Adapt! Do something, don't just roll over and call it a day! Where the fuck is Nobu Sensei!? Why isn't he telling you guys this!?" Sensei always seemed to be conveniently missing during times like these. It got very old, and it always felt like Hidan had to drag his teammates along behind him, kicking and screaming.

Somehow, as if he had said the magic words, Nobu approached his quarreling team with concerned eyes. He was a tall, stocky man. He was one of the older jonin from the village and this was only his third team that he had been assigned. However he had never had a more dysfunctional trio before. The pale green eyes swept over the kids as he ran a hand through his mopy brown curls. "Guys guys whoa whoa time out, cool it. What's the problem now?" He had a feeling he knew the instigator for this fight, but to point the wrong finger was generally something he tried to avoid doing.

However, even against his general wishes to not jump to conclusions, he wasn't surprised when the silver haired boy turned towards him, oddly enough, pretty accusingly.

"The _problem_ is that these two would apparently rather give each other breaks and accept what they can do instead of trying to get better! They don't like being 'pushed so hard' and _I'm _the one pushing them!"

Well, at least he was clear and to the point. Trying to diffuse the situation, Nobu stepped between his students, keeping his hands slightly raised to try to gain their attention. "Guys, come on now. Look, you three need to learn how to work together. Training, missions, the like are going to go nowhere if you guys can't work together. You three bicker and fight all the time, and are tough on each other, when you should be making some sort of plan together of how to improve and encouraging each other. You are supposed to push each other to to better, you're supposed to help each other. Training with you guys is just an all out brawl these days."

The three listened to the jonin as he lectured them, each with their arms crossed and sour faces. Yuki repressed a sigh that was tickling at the back of her throat. Once again Sensei was just going to lecture them on how teamwork would solve everything. It wasn't as if he stuck around to help them, he just rambled at them and went about his merry way. She wished he would just stick around and really help them. It wasn't as if she ever saw them getting along, everyone was so resentful to each other. She herself wasn't even that interested in being a shinobi. Her parents were both shinobi and wanted the same for her. Only she didn't have the drive to do it as they had. However she didn't want to say anything because she was afraid to disappoint her father. They're relationship was somewhat rocky as it was since he had wanted a son. She always wanted to make him proud that he had a daughter instead but it was hard some days. Being a shinobi was the only sound way to gain his approval, she just wished that he could approve of whatever she did. However she knew that this would never be the case.

Takao nodded his head once. Unlike the other two, he knew that if the fighting would stop, then perhaps they could all help each other. Perhaps then they could train together the way they were supposed to, go do missions and eventually work their way up to C and B ranked missions, perhaps they could actually develop their skills. He wanted more than anything to be able to improve his ninjutsu. His entire family was water release and he wanted to make them proud. He even dreamed of making his own signature jutsu. That was usually what kept him going, dreaming. He was a hopeful person and he didn't want to be held back because of the fact that his team couldn't make a decision without beating each other down.

Hidan listened quietly as well, his temper starting to simmer back down to a cooler level. Ever since he was a small child, he just wanted of becoming a strong shinobi. However his chakra control wasn't as developed as the other kids. He always tried to make up for his lack of ninjutsu, by becoming a good taijutsu user. He had plenty of stamina to spare, and though he wasn't very strong, he was acrobatic and quick on his feet. Hell, he had even discovered he was gifted with staffs, and a small variety of short bladed weapons. His only draw back now, was he was convinced that his teammates didn't have the drive he did, and he felt that it was holding him back. He didn't want to be stuck in one place because he and his team couldn't function.

Though it seemed like objections were somewhat visible, at least each of them understood the concept of what he was saying. Nobu nodded his head once to confirm the statement and stood back. "Now you guys get back out there and train together the way a team is supposed to. Takao, you do need to step it up a notch. You're a skilled ninjutsu user, I know you are. You were at the top of your class but you need to have more faith in _yourself_. Just push yourself a little harder and try not to freeze up when you feel pressured. You have such potential, but you need to apply yourself. Work on that?"

The boy sighed a little but nodded his head once. "Yes Sensei." He didn't want to be known as the slack off of the team but sometimes it felt like his body wanted to work against him at the worst times.

Looking over towards Yuki, the jonin continued. "And you Yuki, you're smart, you have excellent chakra control, and you're one of the few kunoichi I've ever seen at your age that can use genjutsu the way you can. Only you just need to be more motivated. You don't seem to take any pride in the title shinobi. Think about what it means to be a shinobi. Really take some time by yourself one day, and just run it through your head a few times. Ask yourself, 'why are you here?' Think about what you want to accomplish for yourself. Will you?"

The young girl nodded her head once as her eyes dropped to her feet. What _did_ she want to accomplish as a shinobi? She didn't really have any interest to be one anyway, let alone think about what to do as one. Perhaps if she did have a goal though, it would help drive her to do well?

Finally, Nobu looked towards the most zealous of the group. "Hidan, you train hard everyday, your taijutsu is spot on, and you've got enough energy to fuel this village for a full year. You too need to think about what you want to accomplish as a shinobi. You want to do well, but do well in what exactly? Not necessarily skills, but a goal. _Why_ are you working so hard? Also...work on curbing that little temper of yours for me. One day it'll get you into trouble and you'll find yourself in over your head. Understand?"

Though his brows furrowed from being called out for his temper, he forced himself to nod silently. He knew he was too quick to get angry with other people, but damnit he couldn't think of a more clear way to tell them that they would listen. Still, he supposed his Sensei was right. Maybe if they could find some sort of medium, they could function better. However even during that, his brain began to journey back to what his Sensei mentioned. Why? Why was he working so hard? What did he want to do as a good shinobi? It was something to mull over.

The jonin eventually left his team once more, a soft smile on his face as his own confidence rose. It seemed that he may have finally gotten through to them. He knew as a shinobi, teamwork should come as second nature. Perhaps his students were finally seeing that. To him, he knew they were all skilled and made up for each others short comings. They could be a deadly trio by the time they were older. Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu together when used properly, could have a devastating blow to any number of opponents. He only wished for them that one day, they could discover this for themselves.

Turning around once out of sight, the jonin crouched down and took one last peek at his students. Mostly for his own self assurance, but to be certain he left them with enough to go by. Though he couldn't hear what was being said, the three were looking at each other and speaking more calmly. Their faces were more solemn, and they seemed to be discussing training methods together. Each of them took their time making eye contact as they conversed, until eventually he watched the turn towards the tree they had chosen to be their victim, and began training once more.


	4. Had Enough

By the time Hidan had reached the house, Kenji was inside, sitting in his favorite lounge chair while pulling the ears of corn out of the husks. Smirking slightly, Hidan pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed them over towards the coffee table, watching as the older man's eyes followed the sliding pack before glancing up to him.

"Got those smokes like you asked."

Chuckling slightly he nodded and swiped the pack, not bothering to ask where he had even gotten them. Lighting the end and taking a slow drag, he restarted pealing the corn again. "How was it?"

Though the question was rather vague, Hidan knew that he was asking of his general day. Sighing heavily, he plopped down on the couch across from the farmer and grabbed a handful of corn to help peal. Over the years he had learned to just start helping with whatever the older man happened to be doing, it was either that or get bitched at for not pulling his weight. "Fucking lazy ass bitches, you'd think I was asking them to move a mountain! I mean at least until Sensei finally came along with a motivational speech." Shaking his head he reached down and gripped the ends of his shirt before lifting and stripping it away from his torso. Whenever he was home he generally appreciated going around shirtless.

The older man rolled his eyes and snorted a bit before taking another drag from the cigarette. "No shit? What he have to say?"

Laughing bitterly, Hidan shook his head before tossing the pealed corn into one of the buckets. "Said where everybody was skilled at first, to sugar coat it. Then went on to tell them that they were both good at what they do, if they would only apply themselves, or believe in themselves, you know, that whole bullshit. As for me, 'work on my temper, it'll get me in trouble someday.' Then ended it with a reflective essay. 'Why are we here, what do we want to do with ourselves?' God he can ramble."

Kenji chuckled once at the explanation. "Same ol' same ol' eh? You're a dick and they're lazy?"

The taunt earned him a sarcastic smile as Hidan threw an empty husk at him. "Shut the fuck up! Ass! Yes, he wasn't telling them anything I wasn't! He just worded it differently...so what did you do all day?"

The older man shrugged a bit as he continued peeling away the husks from the corn, tossing them into the buckets when they were relatively clear. "Stayed here, got the fields all harvested if you wanna grab Kan and get the ground cleared off one good time for next year. It's the best time to do it while everything's dying out there." He nodded his head a bit. It would mean his shirt again since the temperature was starting to drop, but he had worked with the horse plenty of times to make the job go by faster and smoother.

Tossing the last of the corn into the bucket he went to stand back up, only pausing when Kenji looked over to him and tossed a handful of ryo down. Hidan raised a brow but knew it meant he would be asking him to go into town soon.

"After you do that, why don't you go out into town and grab the groceries for me this time? Do an old timer a favor."

Smirking once more, Hidan swiped up the money, and stuffed it into his pockets. "What's wrong Kenji, starting to get a cramp in your walk?"

The same husk he had thrown before, was scooped up and tossed back to him, hitting him in the knee semi-playfully. "Shut the fuck up you hoodlum! I can still stick my foot up your ass no problem! Now you know what we need?"

Hidan giggled mischievously at the item being tossed his way before shaking his head, and backing away. "Heh, I remember what we need, so I shouldn't be long." Another nod was his answer before he turned away to complete the tasks given to him. Neither of them took very long, Kan knew his job as a good working horse and did it well, and the store was relatively uncrowded. Nobody really bothered or spoke to him, given that he was the odd ball of the village. No parents, no family, a foul mouth, and a bad attitude that nobody really appreciated. Frankly he couldn't give two damns less about their opinions on him.

He found himself sitting outside on the roof of the barn that same night after dinner. He had cleaned the dishes after dinner and was mostly just reflecting on the day, surprisingly enough. He usually wasn't one to reflect on anything, but questions were starting to rise in his mind that his Sensei had seeded. What_ did_ he want to do as a good shinobi? Where did he want to go when he achieved it? Stop there? Find something new to do? God what could he even do? He wasn't gifted as far as intelligence went. He knew he wasn't stupid, but he also knew he wasn't the sharpest. He knew no genjutsu, nor ninjutsu. What could a taijutsu user do with themselves? He couldn't possibly take up an important role in the village past being a good shinobi. Yugakiri didn't have a special forces unit like the leaf village did. They had no kage position, not that he could ever hope to achieve it. Sometimes he wondered if he was just being realistic with himself, or if he was just being pessimistic. He always tried to look at things with a clear and honest view, but sometimes he felt that he was just being negative. Then again, he wasn't a positive person by any means.

The more he thought about this, the more he realized, he had no direction. He was just being good for the sake of being good. When he was smaller, he thought he wanted to be good for the sake of getting to fight and defend his village. Only, he couldn't really even do that. The missions were all simple, generic, or scarce. There was no war for him to rush off to. No rival villages. Hell, if he didn't know any better, he'd say Yugakiri made it a point to not quarrel with any other village. All of this made his mind begin to race. What could he do with himself? Did he really have no set future? Just...being a good shinobi? What was there to do!?

He thought about the others in the village for a moment. The other shinobi...what did they all fight for? To protect their families could be one answer. However, he had nobody to protect. Hell Kenji could handle himself, he could probably just yell and scare someone off. Now that he was older, he knew why the village tended to leave the old man be.

Other shinobi seemed to answer, protect there village. Only, from what? Nobody ever tried to invade, nobody ever tried to pick fights with anybody else, it felt so, dormant. Any missions he and his team went on were just simple community service bullshit. He felt so stuck. Was it just because they were all genin? Would it all change after the upcoming chunin exams? God he hoped so. He was so tired of life feeling so repetitive. He wanted a direction, he wanted a goal. He wanted something to work for, something that he could say he believed in enough to risk his life for.

His thoughts were halted abruptly when he heard the call of Kenji. What was he doing outside? It wasn't really late but this was usually the time that Hidan would go to the barn for bed and Kenji would do whatever it was he did before bed. Standing up from the rooftop, he jumped down and raced for the house. Within a few bounds, he was in front of the older man, who glared at him. Kenji never really liked it whenever Hidan just seemed to 'come from nowhere' in front of him.

"What is it Kenji?"

The older man waved a hand, before stepping back and inclining his head. "Come on inside, it's gonna get cold tonight. You can sleep on the couch."

The words replayed in his mind a few times. Kenji had never before invited him to sleep inside. Of all the years he had been crashing in the hay loft, he had never once slept inside. Only to bath and eat, then he was sent away. Was this really because it was cold? Or was Kenji having a change in heart? At least enough to let him sleep inside? Better not count the chickens, for all he knew, it very well could have been cold, and he would be back outside the next night. He had been so busy trying to decipher what Kenji was saying, he didn't realize he hadn't yet moved from his spot.

The older man huffed and took the silver haired boy by the shoulder, pulling him inside the door a bit. "Would you stop gawking and get your junky ass in here? You're letting out all of my goddamned heat."

Hidan moved forward, away from the biting grip but cracked a smile and laughed at the scolding. "Sorry, you had a bit of dinner on your beard and I was thinking of a nicer way to say it." He watched as a hand lifted up to Kenji's five o clock shadow, the fingers brushing over the bits of hair as he searched for the crumbs that weren't really even there.

The man discovered this and sighed heavily at Hidan once more. "You damn hoodlum, shut your fucking mouth."

Laughing even louder, he bolted past the man and raced towards the couch, plopping heavily on the cushions when he reached it. Rolling over onto his stomach, he buried his face in one of the small pillows on the side of the couch, letting his eyelids start to fall shut. Though his mind was still full with some of the events from that day he found that he had been thinking so hard, he had just mentally worn himself out.

It didn't take much longer of his body growing still and relaxed, before he fell asleep, unaware of the blanket being draped over his bare back by Kenji before the older man retreated to his own room. His sleep was deep,m undisturbed, peaceful. The sweet bliss of emptiness was a cocoon of shelter he could have stayed in forever. However, this was impossible.

His sleep was disrupted by the sight of something bright behind his eyelids, filling the dark bliss with a deep shade of dark pink. His brows furrowed and his nose wrinkled in protest, before he buried his face into the pillow, groaning loudly. The sound of approaching footsteps filled his ears, Kenji was already awake. Sounded like he was in the kitchen brewing a pot of coffee.

Lifting his head up as the soaking coffee beans assaulted his nose, he pushed himself to his feet, unaware that he had somehow wiggled out of his pants sometime during the night. Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed the door frame and stuck his head inside to peek at Kenji. "Heeeeey. Morning."

The older man turned around to look at him, holding an empty mug in his hands. Upon spotting the boys current form, he glared at him and tossed the empty mug at him swiftly, causing Hidan to go wide eyed and duck back behind the door frame once more. "What the hell Kenji!?"

The pig farmer swore loudly and stalked forward, pulling the hat off of his head to swing at the young genin who was bouncing away and tripping over himself. "What the hell is right! Get some goddamned clothes on! Why the fuck are you naked!?"

He smiled sheepishly as he crawled backwards on his rear away from the swinging hat, trying to reach the couch where his pants probably were. "I don't know! I woke up and noticed but I forgot when I smelled coffee!" It was a lame excuse but it was the truth. However Kenji didn't seem to ready to accept that. He continued to advance on the scooting boy, still swinging the hat, striking him in the head or legs, whichever he could reach first. "Forgot you were naked! What the hell do you take me for get your goddamned pants on you shithead! What are you five!?"

Eventually he was herded back to the couch where he rolled into his pants, still trying to scoot and shuffle away from the attacking elder. Finally Kenji stopped the attack and rested the hat back on his head, glaring still. "Goddamnit you hoodlum I swear to you. Now you're cleaning up that glass in there and I'm getting some coffee." Turning on his heel and still grumbling, Kenji shuffled back into the kitchen, Hidan crawling after him in exaggerated fear, a mischievous smile on his face.

The glass took only a second to clean since the mug had broken into pretty solid pieces. Once finished, Hidan helped himself to a cup off coffee, planting his happy ass on the counter top as Kenji took the newspaper to read. "Boy did I say you could get some coffee?"

Hidan raised a brow and look at the cup of steaming black liquid. "Mmm, no but I did so it's okay." His response was a snort as Kenji didn't find the light joke very amusing, only turning the pages of the paper. Smirking to himself, Hidan began to carefully nurse the coffee, eventually turning to look outside the window. The sun was up and it looked like a nice day.

From where he was sitting, he had pretty good view of the village. The people were already opening their shops and a few shinobi were passing through, looked like the ones that liked their early morning training. However upon looking again, he noticed a group of people he didn't recognize. They weren't shinobi, but they were strangers. A family, perhaps a few friends, but they were dressed differently. Bags on their backs and it looked like they were in vacation garb. Swimsuits and oils in some of the girls hands as they were speaking to some of the shopkeepers.

Great, just what they needed, more fucking tourists. They wouldn't be so bad if there was like some season for them. No, they came in and out of the village as they pleased and did what they wanted. They were loud, always where they shouldn't be, in the way, and messy as hell. He wasn't sure how many times he had watched people just throw garbage all over the place. He could understand a candy wrapper here or there, maybe a single metal can, but come on! Some of the filth they left behind was sick. Especially if you were the one cleaning it. Hell one of his D ranked missions was to clean Yugakiri! Not to mention, it was never just one or two that came, whenever a single couple would waltz in, it usually attached more and more. These days the amount of tourists had increased to over at least fifty, and Yugakiri was a small place, it mattered over time.

His brow furrowed a bit as he turned to look at Kenji who had his nose buried in the paper. "Hmm, we got more tourists."

Kenji paused in his reading and flicked his eyes up to look at the young genin. "So?" He didn't understand why that was such an unusual thing. People came around that traveled through or just heard word of it when it came to those hot springs. They were some of the most comfortable springs as far as curing aches in your bones or just something to make your skin feel fresh.

Hidan frowned once more and sighed heavily. "So it's getting annoying as fuck. I mean, it's great that people are interested in soaking their balls but come on now, shouldn't we be a bit more...discriminate about them? I mean this is still a shinobi village, it's not there home, its ours and they wreck it."

Kenji rolled his eyes slightly and shook his head. "Um, no. There's no law, against it, they can come and go as they please. Besides, it's not that bad. Tourists happen when a village has something for everyone so just deal with it."

Hidan rolled his eyes also, mostly to mock the older man for doing it first. That was just a royal pain in the ass to him. "I dunno, it just seems like compared to other villages, we get the most and the worst of them, they're annoying and they're just disgusting. Have you seen some of the fatasses that come around you'd think this was the damned beach!"

Kenji shook his head once more, another sip being taken from his coffee. "Don't worry about it so much. There isn't anything you or anyone else can do about it, if you want to avoid them just stay in the training grounds, stay here, or shut up about it. You always go on and on about the damned tourists, but they aren't hurting anything. They're a bit messy but that's what the community is for to help clean it up."

He watched as Hidan made some sour face, obviously not too pleased to hear that. He was ignorant to just how much animosity the boy held for the people not to mention that he was one of the ones cleaning up after them.

Hidan huffed and shook his head, turning back towards the window to observe the groups moving to and from the springs, the women laughing gleefully at something their companions had said to them.

Snorting once more, his temper starting to bubble under the surface. Picking up the cup he lifted it to his lips and down the coffee, not paying mind to the scolding hot liquid as it scorched his tongue and throat. Kenji watched this as well with an unsettling thorn stabbing him in the side. He knew Hidan had a bad temper, a foul mouth, and next to no morals, half of that probably being his own fault. Only, he wouldn't do anything irrational would he? Why was he so irate over the tourists, and why was it such a thing today?

Finally Hidan stood up and shook his head, grabbing the long retractable metal bo staff he often kept with him. "I'm going out, I'll see you this evening."

Kenji nodded a bit, but wasn't certain how to feel about the look in the boys eyes as he stuffed the weapon in its usual spot. Normally he wasn't uneasy around Hidan but something just now was unsettling. He just had a sick feeling.

Hidan moved through the streets of the village, a scowl having already formed on his face like usual. He finally found a spot outside of the rows of stores to stand by, somewhere to watch the people moving back and forth along the roads. He watched them bitterly as they smiled and sometimes stopped in the middle of the roads to chat with each other. Over half of the people there were all tourists. He could only count eleven shinobi in that last ten minutes he stood there seething at them. Some of them were just simple couples, some of them were elders moving to soak their rickety old bones, the rest were familys. It was sickening. Perhaps more so than it should have been but, to see such a thing all the time...it got old. Why couldn't they have a normal amount of shinobi to at least balance this out? Why did his home have to be just a hangout that shinobi just happened to live in here or there.

The more he watched, the more he thought, the angrier he grew. He knew he had to remove himself now, or else someone would get hurt, and honestly he couldn't say he gave a fuck who. Moving around, the wall of the stores, he began traveling through the alley towards somewhere less crowded. He could barely hear himself think.

Upon stepping out of the alleyway he happened to spy once again, another fucking family right there in his face. He stared at the group with a boiling vengeance. A pair of children; a boy and a girl, a woman in some pale green spring dress, and a man in front of them. He was laughing and carrying on with what was apparently his wife. She too was laughing as they were walking, her hands clasped around each of the children's as they were munching on a small bag of freshly bought candy.

The laughter ground against his nerves, his eyes narrowing as he watched the man finish off the last of his canned drink. Slipping his arm around his wife and tossing the can over his shoulder, he smiled widely and began walking away with his family. Hidan watched the can as it dropped from the mans hand, and for a moment time seemed to slow down. The metal twisted and shimmered in the sunlight, making his eyes narrow until it hit the ground, the sound of scraping metal being the only thing to snap him back to reality.

He wasn't sure what happened really. One minute he was watching the canned drink fall, the next his legs seemed to be moving for him as he was now directly behind the man. He watched as his hand reached out, grabbing the man's wrist opposite of his wife, pulling sharply to turn him. However he must've put more force than he originally intended behind it, because the man was pulled off balance and twisted around, falling to his side. The woman shrieked out loudly and immediately pulled her children behind her, the bag of candy dropping and scattering along the ground.

The man stood up and scowled angrily at what he at first thought was a grown man attacking him, but it turned out to be some eleven year old punk looking for a fight. "Hey you, what the hell's your problem!?"

Hidan snorted a bit, thankfully having forgotten about the bo staff he had with him. Suddenly, he pulled back his fist, slamming it directly between the mans eyes. Blood flickered in the air as a popping sound filled the air, the bone breaking on contact. However he didn't stop there. Though shocked, the man tried to recover, taking a blind, untrained swing at the boy, but wound up attacking air as the silver haired shinobi now found himself planted upon his chest. Teeth bared, he began repeatedly hitting the mans face, never once giving him a chance to defend himself though he tried to struggle. Hidan could only barely make out the sound of the woman screaming for him to stop, her voice cracking as tears streamed down her face, officially afraid for her husbands life.

The attack had only lasted for a minute, but seemed to go on for at least five. She felt relieved when the sight of two to three other shinobi came into view, hearing the woman's screams. They had assumed that perhaps a rival shinobi had come into the village perhaps and was attacking civilians, but they were never so shocked then to see the small orphaned shinobi that Nobu had taken on, relentlessly beating in some poor bastards face right in front of his family. The three exchanging shocked glances only for a split second as if to double check that this was real, raced forward towards the one sided fight.

Hunching his shoulder forward the first shinobi drew back his arm and slammed his own fist into the side of the silver haired boys head, knocking it to one side as his body landed on the ground. The second shinobi was now wrestling with one of his arms as Hidan twisted and yelled in the grip, his legs starting to thrash and kick out wildly. Eventually with both of each side, they managed to gang up on him and lift him to his feet calling out to him angrily. "Hidan, what the hell are you doing, stop!"

The third shinobi raced in to stay by the family mans side, trying to lift up his upper body, calling out to him to see if he was okay. His nose was broken and bleeding, his cheeks were swollen, and his lip was busted in several places, he looked dazed but no serious damage could be seen. Glancing up to the terrified woman, his eyes swept behind her to the children's faces. Both had wide tear filled eyes, the small girl whimpering softly, almost too scared to make a peep. The shinobi's eyes were full of remorse for the poor traumatized children, before turning angrily to the silver haired boy who was finally calming down. Though his body wanted to move to teach him a lesson, he remained with the civilian. "Take him to the Daimyo now!" He didn't know what the hell had happened and he didn't care. When a shinobi attacked a civilian like this, there was rarely an excuse.


	5. The Stranger

The other two nodded firmly and turned Hidan's body, starting to walk him to the academy where the office was located. Hidan was glaring fiercely but made no move to fight them. He was too angry to think rationally, but honestly he wasn't even sure why he was so angry. He had just, lost it. Something had finally snapped. He wasn't sure why, but his hatred of all the damned tourists must have finally caught up to him. The man was just unlucky.

Once in the office of the Daimyo, he kept his head somewhat lowered, being pretty used to being scolded over something as far as making trouble, minor thievery, and taking fights just a bit too far. However this was more serious, he had brutally attacked an innocent man and could have killed him, probably would have had it gone on. Staring the Daimyo in the eyes, he waited for the worst.

The deep, blue haired man looked at Hidan first, noting the glare plastered in his eyes, before turning his own eyes to the pair of shinobi beside of him. This was definitely something if these particular pair of shinobi were escorting him. "What's this about gentlemen?"

The first shinobi spoke up, having heard the woman screams first. "We were doing our rounds like you asked Sir when we heard screaming behind the shops. There we personally witnessed Hidan attacking a civilian right in front of his own family. Our partner stayed behind and is giving him medical attention now, it looks like he'll be alright."

Hidan stayed silent as once again his eyes met with the Daimyos. At first, his expression was one of disbelief. Almost asking Hidan himself if it was true or not. However, as expected, the expression turned firm, almost angry. "You attacked a civilian? In front of his family? I assume you had a good reason why?" His voice dropped an octave, his fingers drumming along the wooden desk as he demanded an explanation.

Finally having enough of being held, and starting to feel quite defensive, he tried to shrug the other two shinobi off of him. However their grips around his biceps only tightened, their feet planting in the floor. They had no intention of letting go. He scowled, his teeth biting together as he tensed up. "No. I was pissed off before he came around, and happened to go off on the nearest person."

The Daimyo stared at him for a long while, nobody spoke or moved. Options flooded the man's head as he stared at the young, angry genin. He had never had something like this happen before. He wasn't sure still why it happened, but something had to be done. "Hidan, I don't know if you realize just how serious this is. You are a trained shinobi of hot water. You can't just go around picking fights with somebody because you have a quick temper do you understand? You have the power to kill a civilian with a well aimed kick, let alone relentless attacks to their face. That family has to be afraid of shinobi now in fear that they can't control themselves and will attack. People are already uncomfortable around shinobi as it is, you can do things beyond their capacity and imagination. Hear me now. _Only _because his wounds were not fatal, and that he will apparently recover, is the reason I am not going to imprison you."

He looked at him suspiciously. He wasn't going to imprison him? He was certain that was where he would wind up as soon as he had stepped in. He had been preparing for that. So what would happen now? He watched the Daimyo closely, his brows furrowing in confusion, his jaw clenching nervously. "So what are you going to do?"

Folding his hands together and leaning forward against the desk, the Daimyo looked at him sternly. "Firstly, this will not ever happen again or you _will_ be imprisoned. Secondly, for five months I am placing you on guard duty. You'll be taking the place of your comrades here every evening until those five months are up, also you will be drilled every afternoon prior to that. You'll report to the training ground every day no exceptions. You've caused trouble before Hidan. It's time for that to end. Dismissed." The boy was growing up and couldn't go on this way. He was too dangerous like this, especially if he would go off for no apparent reason on a civilian.

The pair of shinobi by his sides released his arms, moving off to the side as he wheeled around and stormed away. Drilled, and guard duty!? Granted he was grateful for not being imprisoned for the rest of his life, he was still pissed about getting scut jobs. This whole day had gone up in flames and it was only noon!

Storming all the way to the house, he walked inside but was greeted with Kenji sitting at the table, reading the same paper. His brow was covered in sweat and he looked like he had been working outside. Kenji lifted his head up to see the genin, but was somewhat stunned to see a large bruise forming on the side of his head. "What happened to you?"

Hidan scoffed and took a heavy seat down, placing his forehead into his palms. "Fucking hell...I really screwed up Kenji."

The farmer assumed the worst right away. Someone was dead and he had run home. Would they be coming to take him away? Scooting forward in his chair, he looked over to the troubled boy. "What happened?"

"I attacked someone. I dunno who he was, just some guy with his wife and kids. He...he was just there he didn't even do anything. I was just so pissed he was there at all. Now I've got afternoon drills and evening guard duty. They're gonna assign me to some jonin I've never even heard of."

At first Kenji was shocked, but at the same time he had seen it coming. Still, he just couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You attacked someone because they were just there? Do you know how fast you could've gotten locked up!? Would you use your fucking head? I know you've got a brain in there Hidan, you'd better dig deep and use it! People aren't gonna play with that shit, you couldn't have picked a better way to get into trouble!" Standing up and tossing his hat onto the table, the older man marched back towards the half full coffee pot. He was angry at the fact the boy let his testosterone get into the way so much he'd loose his head like that. Not to mention he was worried sick about him. He knew Hidan was a loose cannon and he worried that some day he'd either get locked away or killed. He didn't mean to, but over the years Hidan had become like another son to him. He didn't want to loose him too.

Hidan jumped a bit when the hat hit the table and he looked at Kenji with wide eyes as he moved to pour another cup of coffee. Why was he so angry about this? Yes he deserved it, but, he didn't think he would get...so angry. He assumed he'd get annoyed, maybe tell him he had been an idiot and he deserved it, but he seemed...upset that it had happened at all. He didn't understand how to handle this himself. He glanced back down at the table, wringing his hands together, officially feeling bitter about the situation now that Kenji was mad at him. He couldn't handle all this. Too much had happened too fast and now the one human that gave a damn about him was furious at him. "I...I'll be out in the barn. I gotta lay down." It was only noon, but damnit he needed a nap or something. This was just bad.

Kenji turned his head only slightly to nod at him before turning away. Would the punishments teach him a lesson? For some reason he doubted it. He didn't know what had to happen before the preteen would settle down, but he was just afraid for the worst. Surely all this would blow over, and things would go back to the way they were before hand, but for now he was glad Hidan excused himself. He had wanted to kick him out for the day, but he didn't want to turn him out when he had come to him for some sort of support, even if it was just to tell someone that cared about what happened to him.

The following week had gone just as he predicted. The jonin that had been assigned to him was bitter and rude, not to mention he had already heard a few incidences involving Hidan, so he had prepared himself for what his own mind had conjured up. He pushed him into long sessions of training with little rest and screamed at him the entire time. After those were over, he got to stand with his staff, guarding nothing but the damned mountains and forests with that very same jonin. Each time he began to slouch or nod off, he was struck on the head with the hilt of the jonin's blade. It was just complete hell.

He was going home for the evening after the second month that had passed, starting to have enough of that damned jonin. The streets were starting to empty, the sun was going down, and the air was chilling. He was so sick of feeling stuck in the same rut. He had no direction in his life, his village was over run with tourists, word had gotten around about his actions so everyone had picked at him for it, Kenji was the only person he could go to although he couldn't really _talk_ to him. Kenji just wasn't someone to throw your problems at. He'd only tell you to man up and deal with it. He was so lost in his own thoughts, he was unaware of the dark figure that had slipped up behind him from beside of a building. "Troubles on your mind friend?"

Hidan jumped and whirled around at the sound of someone's voice. He had already retrieved the bo staff, and extended it out, holding it defensively in front of him. "Shit man! What the fuck is wrong with you, you don't sneak up on someone like that!" He glared angrily at the stranger, only, he couldn't really even see his face.

He was wearing a long tattered grey robe around his body with the hood up. Long prayer beads were strung along the front and sides with this strange symbol dangling from some of the beads. It was a silver circle with an upside down triangle in the middle of it. Around his neck was a long black rosary with the same symbol. A holy man?

"Who are you? What do you want?" He wasn't sure why this man was here or why he was talking to him at all, but he was curious now. He was definitely a foreigner. He watched as the man smiled a toothy grin, obviously pleased with himself over something that Hidan must have been missing.

"Relax boy. I'm not here to threaten you. I just want to help." The hooded man's voice was as smooth as black silk. It was so soft and calming, that Hidan could feel his anger melting away. If only it were some sort of shelter, one could simply hide away there with no worries.

Hidan finally put the staff away, seeing no actual threat in this man. "Help with what?" He assumed any questions he had would be answered, but for now he'd hear this man out. Given that he had only spoken to this man twice, it was almost dangerous how comfortable he was already feeling around him.

"Child...I wish only to help with your troubles. It's plain to see that something has you quite stressed out. Perhaps there's something you'd like to talk about? Let me be your ear, and I'll listen without judging you."

Having already forgotten about the fact that not seeing this man's face was annoying, Hidan nodded and leaned back against one of the street poles. "I...I just don't know what to do. I don't know what's wrong with me. I...my training's not going anywhere, my teammates are stupid, and lazy as shit, I mean...we've tried working things out but it just gets fucked up again. The one guy that seems to give like, half a fuck about me has been pissed at me because I got in trouble last week over a fight with some civilian and I just feel like..I've got no future! I have no parents, no dreams, I can't eve really go do a decent mission to be a better shinobi like I want to because there aren't any!" The more he spoke, the faster everything left his mouth, and he was certain that this stranger was plenty confused.

He looked up at the hooded man, trying to gauge his reaction. However that was the problem. There wasn't one. He only stood there, smiling calmly at him. It was almost as though, he expected everything. "You poor lost soul. Why, you're only trying to do what every shinobi was born to do. It is a perfectly normal instinct that society seems to want to tame down and bury within themselves. You seem to be one of the only ones that knows by nature."

Hidan blinked once as he listened. What was this guy talking about? Lost soul, what ever shinobi was born to do? "I don't understand," he admitted. "What is every shinobi born to do that society doesn't like?" Not to mention how did this guy know? Was he a shinobi? He couldn't see any visible sign that he was, no forehead protector, no visible weapons, nothing.

The hooded man chuckled darkly, shaking his head as if the answer should be obvious. "To kill."

His brows knitted together in confusion once more. He was certain he looked ready to bust a vessel right about now with how much he wasn't understanding. To kill? Shinobi were born to just kill? "That's it? That seems pretty cut and dry." That was the reason and purpose for shinobi? That was why he was so lost was because he wanted to fucking kill?

The hooded man took a slight step forward, his voice retaining it's calming, veil like tone. "Yes child...to kill. Shinobi were born to destroy, they were born to fight. That's why we have been given the gift of chakra. However society teaches us to bury it away, they call it barbaric, and wrong, however death still happen. Because no matter what they do, society cannot live without war. Let me tell you something that I think will enlighten you boy...sit." He held out his hand to the bench that was slightly off to the side of the men, offering to share something that sounded like it sound be important.

Granted something inside of him was going against him, he felt like he could trust this man. Not only had he not judged him for what he confided to him, but he had made it sound like he had been in the right all along. Not to mention he was trying to help and had advice for him, he was rather informative actually. Nodding once, Hidan lowered himself down onto the bench, the hooded man joining him.

"My child, to me it sounds like what you really need is a bit of guidance. Allow me to share with you, the name of who has enlightened hundreds of people before you including myself. Jashin-Sama. You see...Jashin-Sama is the God of destruction, he knows exactly what shinobi are born to do and he is the one who teaches you to embrace this. The only way a shinobi can truly survive in this world with any sort of true happiness, is to see that society is anything but civil...they're fake, they're deceivers, in denial, and are blind. You...your vision has been clouded, but you are not blind. You act the way all shinobi were intended to act. This is both a gift and a curse. You have the potential to be a fierce shinobi under the guidance of a God who could help you, and you are having difficulty fitting in your own village no?"

Hidan stared at him for a long while, the hooded man remaining silent, allowing him to take in and embrace the information he had been given. Was this a legitimate religion? Was this truly a normal thing? He was so confused and he had no idea what the right answer was. However...once again, he had to take in the fact that this man had not judged him for anything he had told him. He even said he had a gift? Was his constantly boiling temper really just his primal instincts trying to break through society's rules? Was that why he was so angry all the time? This man had definitely opened up new options for him, but how could he just accept that? He had so many new questions now. Just what all was considered normal for basic shinobi instinct, who was this Jashin-Sama the man had mentioned, and why hadn't he heard of this before?

"Fucking...No. Well, yes? Jashin-Sama? Are...are there more like you? This...is this some kind of a joke? Even if that's what shinobi really are, there isn't anything you can do against society, I'm already in a crock of shit for being the way I am as it is I don't need all of this on top of it!" He was getting irate again, his head was whirling confusion and conflict. He wanted help. He wanted a direction in life but he didn't want all of this! Did he? Was this...was this some sort of answer to his wants? Was this potentially the chance to finally have a goal in his life?

The Jashinist watched the turmoil spin behind the boys eyes. He had gotten through to him it seemed. The younger generation that had experienced the crueler points of life generally were grateful for the chance to embrace a God that understood them, and to discover that their more violent ways of living were not the wrong ways of living. That they would even be rewarded for their choices. Satisfied, he reached into his robes and pulled out a handful of scrolls and books. "Here...read these but they are for your eyes only. The blind will not understand and you will be criticized for it. Read them to your hearts content, and just remember that you are not alone...Jashin-Sama will listen to, and reward those who give their loyalties to him. I'll be watching, and come back for you when you are ready." Standing up, he made the appropriate hand seals and preformed the body flicker technique, leaving in a cloud of smoke.

Hidan stared wide eyed, jumping to his feet at once and looking around. "Hey! Wait! God damnit hold on!" He hadn't wanted him to leave. That was the one person who had answers! Now he was gone! Glaring and swearing loudly once more, he glanced down and began scooping up the materials left behind. Just what was in these that was supposed to be for his eyes only? He said they would help...how? Was this more information on Jashin-Sama?

He glanced around to see if perhaps on some off chance he could spot the man once more, but nothing or nobody could be seen. All was quiet and empty. Shaking his head and deciding to let it go for now, he made his way back to the farm. Moving inside the barn and sliding the door closed, he climbed up into the loft for the night. He hadn't bothered to really sleep inside unless Kenji called for him on occasion.

Laying back into the haystacks, he took one of the books and pulled it open, his eyes scanning the pages anxiously. Normally hearing about religions, it was all mindless droning to him. However, this...this was different. His mind was racing and pounding from everything he was taking in. It, it was confusing at first, it seemed to be so unorthodox and it made little sense. Only, the more he read, the more fascinated he became. He had been reading so much he was almost halfway through the first book, which was impressive on its own given how thick they were. He soon discovered that he had lost all track of the time as the hours rolled by. Not until the sun began to peek through the cracks in the wooden barn, and rustling of the pigs below as they began to wake for the morning, did he realize that he had been up all night reading through these passages.

Sighing slightly, he marked the page and closed the book, climbing down from the loft after fixing his hair. The locks had grown in length over the years and they now fell to his cheeks, the part having fallen to the side, making some of the hairs fall over his eyes. It got on his nerves pretty often, especially when he was training. He was getting convinced to either cut it all off or to style it back with some gel, though some of the other shinobi around the village seemed to think simply styling it back would be better, so that way he would still have it if he changed his mind about it being down. He might consider that in the near future.

Grabbing the bucket he went about the well practiced ritual of feeding in the mornings. Sliding the door to the barn open, the pigs all scattered outside while he began pouring the food into the bucket. While moving back and forth, his mind began to wander to the previous night. Back to the hooded Jashinist. His entire persona, the hypnotic tone in his voice, how calm he was. Was that typical for someone who followed the word of a demonic lord? There was so much he wanted to learn now.

Once the task of feeding was finished, he put the bucket away and walked over towards the house to get his coffee with Kenji. This was his last week having to go through drills and guard duty, so that much he was looking forward to. Sliding the door open, he stepped inside, yawning a bit as his body began to remind him that he was over due for sleep, he moved over towards the coffee pot. Kenji had already filled it and was now in his usual chair with the paper.

He glanced up to Hidan as he walked in, nodding his head a bit. "You got some hay in your hair."

Hidan smirked a bit and nodded his head back, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "You know most normal people just say 'good morning' or ' hi how are you?'" He did however began reaching up and picking through his hair once more. "Damnit, I can't find my brush, I think it fell and maybe one of the pigs ate it or something."

At that, Kenji began to laugh. "Leave it to you to get your hair brush eaten. So why don't you go buy a new one and keep it up out of their reach next time?"

Hidan rolled his eyes deeply as he sipped on the cup. "Shut up, what the hell do you think I plan on doing?"

"Looks like you could plan to crawl back in bed," he shot back.

Laughing at that, Hidan nodded his head in agreement. He had to imagine he looked pretty rough. "No kidding? Tell me something I don't know. I was...well reading last night. Got kinda caught up in it."

Kenji started at him blankly for a moment before cracking another small smile, a warning sign seeming to flash behind his eyes. "You can read?"

Choking a bit on the next sip, Hidan coughed and sputtered a moment, covering his mouth with his hand before looking over and glaring. "Hey now! Fuck you, I can fucking read!" Though his words were bitter, both men wound up laughing. The sense of humor being fairly understood between them. At least the day was starting out fairly decent.

Glancing outside, he dully noted that it was getting close to more torturous hours with the bitter jonin. Sighing heavily and finishing off the coffee, he set the mug in the sink before turning to look at Kenji. "Well I suppose I should get going. Time to see how long I can go without headbutting the asshole today." He watched the older man chuckle before nodding once towards him.

"Sounds like a decent goal for the day."


	6. Future Chunin

About two years passed by the village. It was summer now, and once again the tourists had returned, double the quantity of usual. However a thirteen year old Hidan had the up coming chunnin exams to thankfully distract him. The training with the bitter jonin had thankfully done something for him as far as his new training methods went. He trained earlier, longer, and harder since he had been with the other man that was for sure. Not to mention, his taijutsu had improved dramatically, his stamina was off the charts, and his evasion had even gotten more precise. He was definitely known throughout the village for his newly developed skill levels. He had never felt more ready for anything in his life. He was excited for it, and each day he only grew more anxious.

The Jashinist hadn't shown himself ever again since they day he had given him those books and scrolls, Hidan hadn't paid much mind to it, and for the most part he had forgotten about it. However, those books and scrolls had taken an equally dramatic effect on his life like his training. He definitely felt that he was more connected with Jashin-Sama's wishes as far as being a shinobi was concerned. He couldn't do very much with it since he was only a gennin. His missions were simple like everyone else's, but because of his vicious nature when he was in combat, any missions that happened to go wrong, such as being ambushed by a group of bandits or rouge ninja, he was able to defeat any he was pitted against. That was more of why he was so ready for the chunnin exams. He would have more opportunities to try to please Jashin-Sama. He gave the credit for his own determination to his God. In his mind, it was because of Jashin-Sama, that he had the drive and vigilance that he did. It gave him more to fight for, rather than just to better himself as far as his skills were concerned.

He had to say, he felt more at ease with a God to follow as well. He didn't have to be completely in charge of his life, and he didn't feel like he was bumping around blindly anymore. He had a goal now, and a real reason to live. Not to mention, he had to say, he enjoyed following the word of a God that wasn't overly controlling. He had heard too much of Gods with all these profane rules and tedious nitpicks as far as how someone was supposed to live their lives, it was suffocating. Not Jashin-Sama. No, he demanded for you to simply act the way a shinobi is supposed to act, and not become a modern day sheep. It was pretty easy, however the consequences were pretty intimidating. Either way you look at it, the most unpleasant deaths were what waited for disobedient followers. No second chances, no understandings, just do or die. He respected that though, he could take it more seriously that way, not to mention from what was asked of a follower...it wasn't that much. When a God didn't ask that much, and you went against him, he couldn't think of a more appropriate punishment.

He found himself that day in the training grounds yet again. Yuki and Takao were joining him and they were all working with a variety of tasks, only they had decided to keep it to the canopys. At first it had been sparing, then it quickly changed to some sporting races, now it was rushing up and down the trunks of trees and tossing kunai towards colour marked leaves. They were small moving targets, so they were the perfect way to practice your aim. By the time they were finished, the three teenagers were all covered in sweat and out of breath. They had been at the tasks for a good number of hours. Finally, Yuki stepped off to the side and grabbed a few water bottles. "Hey you guys, let's take a break alright? We've been at this for a while now." Nodding in agreement Hidan and Takao dropped down to the grassy floor and took some of the water. Takao was the first to voice his appreciation as the cool water soothed his burning throat.

"Thanks Yuki-chan." He worked to slow his breath down as he continued sipping the water, trying not to cough as the tingly feeling began to travel in the back of his throat from drinking too fast. Hidan also took a bottle without a word, putting it to his lips and taking a few long drinks. Turning his head, he decided that he was finished for the time being. "You guys go on ahead without me, I'm gonna go take care of some shit for the evening."

Yuki looked at him for a moment but nodded her head wordlessly. She made it a point to say as little to Hidan as possible. Takao offered a small smile, still being one to try to stay on good terms with both of his teammates. "Well if you're sure, we might hang for a few more minutes before we go home."

Hidan nodded once more, not really listening to what his teammate was saying before he turned his back to him. "Sounds good, catch you guys later." Without awaiting for their replies, he bounded off to the farm. Granted he worked better with his teammates these days, he still disliked having to be around them for all that time. He got irritable with them and they were faster to argue with him since he wasn't bashful about starting fights.

His teammates, granted they would never show it, were more nervous around him. Yuki had compared Hidan to a lightswitch; his temper could go from zero to a hundred within a split second and it showed full fledged when he was fighting an enemy. He never bothered to hide it or even hold it back. She openly expressed that she didn't want to be alone around him and felt nervous whenever he was fighting. She was always worried that after he was finished mauling an enemy; with the look in his eyes, he very well might turn and attack them too just because he couldn't come back from wherever it was he went when he was fighting. Takao had taken longer to admit it, but even he couldn't deny that his teammate was like a ticking time bomb. They both had mentioned the concerns to Nobu Sensei, but he seemed to hold faith in Hidan. He had even told them that he would be as quick to defend them as he was quick to attack an enemy.

Takao sighed slightly as Hidan disappeared from sight before looking at Yuki, who started up at once. "I still say he's dangerous."

Shaking his head, and finishing another sip, Takao sighed. "Well yea I guess so, but you know I think Sensei's right. Even though he gets...excited when he fights, he's never once raised a hand to us." Even though he had acted like he would a number of times, even threatened to do so. Hidan was mostly all talk with them. Boy could he talk too. His foul mouth was about as famous as he was and he didn't know the definition of censorship.

Yuki scoffed and folded her arms, not happy to have to go through the chunnin exams with her livewire of a teammate. "You think he'll be able to handle it though without causing chaos and getting us thrown out? The exams I mean. This is the only chance we have to pass and really make something of ourselves, I don't want to loose it because of him."

Takao nodded his head slightly. He understood how much the exams meant to Yuki, it was in her eyes the only real way to make her Father more proud he had a daughter than a son. She had worked hard, and her genjutsu's had only gotten more devastating over time.

"Don't worry about that. This is important to him and he's just as determined to get through it as you are. If anything, I have faith that we might make it because of him." He didn't like encouraging Hidan's borderline, bullying training methods, but he was a good coach when he worked with Takao one on one and he always pushed him to do better. He never let him quite when he wanted to, and his own determination was inspiring to Takao.

Yuki didn't look very convinced, but she knew there wasn't much else of a choice. They were all in this together and would simply have to trust each other. "Alright, I guess here's to hoping it goes well. I'm just worried he's going to loose his temper on one of the instructors of all things and get us dropped from the program permanently. You know he's only gotten worse over the years."

Takao nodded encouragingly and waved a hand casually. "Relax would you? Have a little faith, he's not going to do something _that _stupid. Hey, if anything we might be in for the biggest surprise of our lives. You also know how he gets when he wants something badly enough." He hunted and chased down a goal like live prey until he had his fingers tightly clenched around it. It was both and admirable and tiring trait of Hidan's. Especially if he got it in his head that you were the one holding him back. Oh the many arguments on _that_ topic.

Eventually Takao smiled and gave her a goofy wink. "Hey, it will be okay. Don't worry so much, let's just call it a day and get our heads together for tomorrow okay? You know,nno I'm thinking about going out tonight myself." Suddenly, he seemed to have a thought. The little spark in his eyes catching Yuki's attention, making her quirk a brow. "Say, um...I've taken him out a lot but you know, Hidan doesn't really like going out with me, um, our types clash too much you know? He doesn't like it when I dote on him and I love spoiling people. See where the problem is?"

Granted it was a strange, cheesy opening; especially given that Takao wasn't even remotely into the opposite sex, it caused Yuki to start to giggle, before he continued with a proud smile. At least he had gotten a laugh out of his stressed out teammate.

"So I was thinking, maybe when we're through here, you and me could go out tonight? Have some fun around the village and relax...we could use it since all the upcoming stress has been slipping through. What do you say?"

She smiled a little and shook her head slowly. These past few weeks, Takao had been making light passes at her, but she hadn't really paid any mind to it. This time though, she decided that perhaps it was just the thing she could use, something to help distract her and have fun with a friend. "Well, I guess so. Sure, why not? Give me a couple of hours to get cleaned up and you can meet me at my house." She had to admit, it was pretty nice to get asked out.

Back at the pig farm, Hidan went inside the house, looking for Kenji. He was getting ready to leave for the next two weeks, something about visiting his sister in law. Personally Hidan could have done without her and was glad that Kenji was going over there this time. The woman was pretty off the wall and stuck in her ways, not to mention she had been pretty rude to him and even called his street vermin. Who the hell calls someone street vermin? Never the less he wanted to at least say goodbye to the man.

Moving around the house, he poked his head into the bedroom, spying the older man around a large suitcase. Tapping on the door with his index finger, he flashed him a brief smile. "Heeey Kenji-san," he greeted.

The older man turned around to face the shinobi, nodding his head once to him. "Hey boy, you're in early."

Hidan nodded his head and sat down on the side of the bed, watching him pack the last of his things. "Yea I wanted to catch you before you ran out on me heh. Have fun with your weird ass sister in law...thing. Why do you keep in touch again?"

Kenji rolled his eyes and scoffed as he pulled the zipper along the case. "Because she's sick and all that good shit. She doesn't have long left so the least I can do is pay her a visit when she wants to see me. Anyway boy I want you to watch the place for me while I'm out. Don't burn it down, don't break anything, eat what you want, and if you sleep in here I'd better not find out you went further than that living room. Got it?"

Hidan rolled his eyes playfully but nodded his head anyway. Both of them knew Hidan wouldn't disobey the simple house rules, hell he barely came inside as it was so it wasn't a huge deal. Hidan just knew that Kenji liked to still be the man of the house, given the fact Hidan was without question stronger than him. There was still a mutual respect there that neither of them acknowledged.

With another affirming nod, Kenji straightened his back and took a hold of the case, walking to leave the bedroom with Hidan following behind his heels. "Well boy, I'll see you in two weeks. Don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, think you can manage?"

A mischievous chuckle was his answer as Hidan bobbed his head up and down. "Sure thing, I'll look after everything while you're gone. You just go have fun."

A scoff was his response as the older man marched through the kitchen. "That's none too reassuring."

**Well here's another chapter for you guys. I am just sorry it's so short. Reviews are always encouraging though =) I hope to have more ready shortly. **


	7. While You Were Away

Two weeks. Two weeks had Hidan trained hard with his teammates, two weeks he prepared himself for what was about to come. The day of the chunin exams was tomorrow. Himself, Yuki, and Takeo were all feeling anxious, but excited for the big event. Hidan felt ready, perhaps even overly confident, but he just knew he would make it. He knew he would pass. Their Sensei was taking them on the path to success.

He hadn't really trained that much with them, but he gave them the clay they would need to work with, to teach themselves and each other. Hidan felt that they had all shaped themselves quite well. He felt confident enough in his teammates to not worry that they would pussy out on him and that they were strong enough to get through it. Of course, they had all come a long way over the years together, and their teamwork still wasn't quite what it was supposed to be, they figured together they were as good as the other teams that ran like clockwork.

The day was coming to an end, and the trio was getting ready to retire and go home, to get an early start for bed. They were trying to plan it so that they could meet up and have one last discussion together over breakfast. Hidan's body was coated in a light sheet of sweat, and he was out of breath, but for some reason, he just didn't feel tired. His stamina had almost doubled over the years and he just couldn't wear himself out anymore, no matter how long he went. He bounced on his toes a little before brushing some of the silver locks that hung in front of his eyes. Moving over to the spot where they had laid their water, he grabbed a bottle and pulled the lid off to drink.

Takeo smiled and plopped down on his rear in the grass. Folding his arms behind his head, he dropped his upper body to lay back, smiling at the sky. "God I just can't wait! I dunno about you guys but I don't even think I'll be able to sleep!"

Yuki giggled at him fondly, taking a seat beside of him. "Well you're going to have to Takeo-kun, you'll be too tired to keep your eyes open if you pull an all-nighter tonight of all nights." She took her hand and ran it through his hair gently. Ever since their first date, the pair had agreed to start seeing one another, mostly in the stage of puppy love.

Takeo nodded and glanced over to Hidan who was still on his feet, going through a few taijutsu forms. "Hey Hidan-san, you and Yuki-chan should come keep me company tonight, my parents are gone and won't be back until tomorrow afternoon so I'll need some supervision." It was a light joke, but he did want to spend time with his teammates. Between Hidan and Yuki's rivalry, he tried to keep the peace and spend time with them. He himself could probably take the credit for what teamwork existed between the three.

Yuki smiled, even though she wasn't sure how comfortable she felt sleeping under the same roof as Hidan. "Hmm, that might be nice, I can let my folks know. They shouldn't mind." Her eyes followed Takeo's and landed on Hidan, asking for his answer, but the expression on his face was enough of an answer for her. He actually had quite the expressive face and could probably hold an entire conversation with his expressions alone...not that he ever was considerate enough to do so.

"You think I wanna be the third wheel while you guys shove your tongues down each others throats and shit? Nah, I'll pass."

Yuki's eyes swept over to look at Takeo's reaction to the rather insensitive statement. He looked disappointed, but hide it with another smile. "Hidan-san come on please? You never go with us anywhere and you'll be alone tonight anyway. You're not gonna be a third wheel, come on it'll be fun. I've got some good music I can blast I think you might like too, maybe we can do a round of cards?" He at this point was just grabbing at anything to try to change his teammates mind. He watched the magenta eyes roll, as he snorted.

"Not gonna be a third...bullshit! You are so full of shit you're up to your ears in it!" Laughter bubbled up in his chest as he shook his head once more, taking another drink of the water before it was empty. "You two go on without me I'm sure you'll have plenty of _supervision_ under her watchful little eyes. Just use protection."

Both faces of his teammates flushed brightly, Yuki pressing her palm to her cheek as if she couldn't believe those words just left his mouth. He was so open about everything and was the most vulgar thing in the entire village! It shouldn't surprise her but he always managed to shock her with what he said. She glared deeply at him as he laughed at their humiliation so openly. He seemed to get a good kick out of it that was for sure.

"Hidan-san that's not funny! Don't say things like that out loud what is the matter with you!? Have you never heard of self restraint? You can't just say everything that crosses your mind!"

The laughter only grew louder as he almost doubled over. Lifting his head up rather proudly, he waved a hand before replying rather sarcastically. "Why yes I have heard of self restraint, now you want to ask me how much I don't give a fuck? Now stop acting like you've never even thought about it, you're not some innocent little flower. Virgin, maybe. Innocent, no." Granted he knew he was more open than the rest of the village was, it drove him up the wall when people acted so completely shocked when what was labeled a 'taboo subject' was brought up in conversation. Everybody did it, everybody has thought about it, what was so bad about talking about it? He couldn't grasp the concept why and it was just irritating. Especially when women acted like they were too good for it, or acted as if they had just never had a dirty thought cross their minds before.

His fun was interrupted however when he watched her stand to her feet, her eyes blazing with fury. She had just about had enough of his attitude. She hated being teammates with him, she hated how he took every chance available to humiliate and belittle her and Takeo. She hated how he laughed at them like they were some joke simply because he was one of the most talented in the village, she hated the way he smirked, always challenging everybody around him, she hated his character, and she hated that he got away with everything. It showed more and more each day that he had no parents growing up and the bitter old farmer didn't exactly help any. He had zero respect for others and authority, and she only hoped she would be their the day he screwed up and landed himself in prison. She promised herself every day that she would visit him simply to laugh in his face and leave.

In her moment of rage, she began marching towards him, her fists clenched, her teeth biting tightly together. Hidan watched this with a new interest, and took on a fighting stance. "Oh ho, finally gonna make this interesting?" He smiled widely, his eyes dancing with delight. He could feel his pulse begin to race as the thrill of a potential fight crossed his mind. At least until he watched Takeo plant himself between them with both of his arms stretched out.

"Stop! Stop it both of you! Hidan-san, stop baiting her! She hasn't done a thing to you and you're being a complete ass to her! Yuki, stop letting the little things egg you on so much! Come on you guys are teammates, we're all stuck with each other, the day we_ have_ to get along is tomorrow and you guys are gonna fight the day before? Come on use your heads!"

Hidan glared fiercely at Takeo for the interruption, having half a mind to shove him aside and to simply attack Yuki. He was looking for a fight, she rose to the challenge, he had resolved himself to fight her. He wouldn't just let Takeo step in the way because he was a pacifist. He moved forward to shove his way past his teammate, but once again was interrupted. This time it was from the voice of his Sensei.

"Guys! Guys, I've got bad news."

The tone in his voice was serious, almost distraught. Something had happen? It calmed Hidan down at once as he turned to look at him with wide concerned eyes, Takeo and Yuki followig suit. Yuki of course was the first to ask.

"What's wrong Nobu-Sensei?"

Hidan watched the older man closely, his body warming somewhat from the anxiousness that was building up. Nobu sighed heavily and shook his head, not even sure how to say it at this point. The looks on their faces was breaking his heart, and they had all worked so hard, only for the dreams to be ripped away from them. He wouldn't even be surprised if they all left the village after this, especially Hidan.

"Guys...the exams, have been canceled tomorrow."

Their stomachs all dropped, and Yuki could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Hidan however shook his head, wanting more details. "Wait, is it being postponed? What do you mean canceled?" Nobu eyes began to fill with remorse as he stepped closer. "No Hidan-san...it's more than just that. The academy won't be accepting new students this year either. What shinobi are here now, is all that will be here from now on. You three...will remain genin."

The trio could have been statues for all they moved. Not a word was said, not a breath was heard. The only movement was when Yuki sank to her knees, sobbing quietly. She was going to be stuck. All that work, and what does she have to show for it? Nothing.

Takeo felt his chest tighten, his body beginning to shudder. This was what they had all worked for. They all wanted more than anything to do well as shinobi, to fight for what they all believed in, and make names for themselves. Now they couldn't. All they could do was hold onto what they were given, and watch as their lives became hollow and meaningless. He glanced over to each of them, his heart becoming heavy. Yuki's cries were softening but she was curled completely within herself, Nobu Sensei seemed broken hearted for them, he had wanted them to take the exams and wanted to watch them succeed. His concern grew however when his eyes landed on Hidan. He hadn't moved, and it looked like he wasn't even breathing. There was nothing in his eyes...no reaction what so ever. He looked, empty, almost comatose as he stood there. His eyes didn't seem to be focused on anything and there for once was nothing to go by on his face. Just, blank.

Nobu seemed to have also noted this, moving closer towards the silver haired boy, thinking that perhaps he was just trying to hold back his emotions. "Hidan-san...don't worry it'll be alright. Guys listen to me, this isn't the end of the world. You're sti-" his entire statement was interrupted, his voice becoming nothing but a strangled gurgle as his body began to fall backwards, a stream of red running down his chest. His body hit the ground and Takeo's eyes widened in shock. His eyes followed the red trail up the jonin's chest, landing on his throat. A single, thin line was drawn across it.

Hidan's body seemed to be reacting for him. He hadn't even been aware that Nobu was speaking to him. All he knew was that everything he had worked for was gone. He had lost his dreams, and would be stuck at the bottom of the totem pole for the rest of his life! He could only imagine what other shinobi would think when he told them he was from Yugakure. The place that was eventually overrun with tourists. He bet anything that the fucking Daimyo was looking for the profit! He saw the tourists was bringing in more funds, and was seizing the opportunity!

After cutting down his Sensei, he turned and squared off at his teammates, Yuki barely having the time to look up to even realize her Sensei was dead before he was on top of her. His eyes were wide and his teeth were bared, no thought or reason what so ever could reach his mind. All he felt was the rage that fueled him now. His adrenaline was rushing, his veins pumping blood at twice the rate as he moved to Takeo next, his breathing becoming labored.

His legs pounded against the dirt, his kunai knife becoming stained as he raced through the village, taking down each and every person he happened across indiscriminately. He couldn't stop, he didn't want to stop. If his village would try to hold him back, then he would give them nothing less than what they deserved.

Time was all but lost to him now, everything seemed to be happening so fast, or maybe it was really just slow and it seemed fast? He wasn't certain. He could only watch as wide eyes became lifeless lumps on the ground, the once brown dirt becoming glazed over with red pools around them, the streetlights shining against his knife. It was so thrilling. It was the most terrifying yet satisfying thing he had ever done before in his life.

However...now it was over. There was nobody left in the village that was alive, and he wasn't eve certain how some of the buildings were even burning. Possibly fire release from some of the ninjutsu users? Not that it mattered right now anyway. His thrill turned to panic however, his body going from completely hot to cold. He had murdered his village. Nobody was left there...he was a criminal now. Only this wasn't the problem...where would he go now? What could he do? He couldn't stay there any longer. He had to leave the mountains of Yugakure and disappear, figure out what to do.


	8. The Stranger Returns

**Dear readers, I am terribly sorry for how long it's taken me to write this =( But I felt really stuck on this particular chapter and I'm still iffy on it but I wanted to go ahead and give it to you guys. I feel like this entire story is really undefined buuuut I'm doing my best and thank you to all of you who have been reading and enjoying it ^^ Here's more and please let me know what you think!**

Hidan's feet thankfully were the most responsive part of him right now. His mind was still racing with the events that had just occurred and his heart rate still hadn't come down. Spinning around on his heels, he raced towards the exit of the village, down the trails, and soon, out of the mountains. The more he moved, the more panic seemed to flow through his veins, causing his legs to pound the ground at an aching pace. He couldn't slow down and he couldn't stop, not out in the middle of nowhere, but, he couldn't just go to a town either. His entire shirt was soaked in blood and he didn't even notice his own injuries until now. His legs were burned from the flames of his old comrades jutsu's and his arm had been punctured with a stray kunai knife that had attempted to stop him in the middle of his asaults. The growing pain in his legs was what finally made him come to a stop. His throat and chest burned, screaming out in agony, and his legs felt like hot butter. Hell, he wasn't even sure where he was. He was loosing his rush now that he was still, and he just felt so tired. Laying down sounded fantastic right about now. To lay and rest without another worry. He couldn't do that however...he was still afraid that someone might come looking for him. What if someone had escaped the slaughter? Gone for help? Would someone be able to track him down? What if they caught him? They would kill him.

"Jashin-sama...help me. What do I do?" he whispered. He shook his head and dropped down to his knees. He was a fourteen year old missing nin now, and he hadn't even been outside of his village that much as sad as it was. Especially after hearing about cases involving prodigies at his age. He had no idea what he could do now. He tired to steady his breathing, assuring himself that nobody was coming...nobody would find out until morning...that was when Kenji and Takeo's parents were due back. Kenji. He hadn't even thought of him until now. What would he think? He couldn't go back, though. He wasn't stupid and knew he had to be as far away from the village as possible.

"You honestly think He'll help you? You're are not deserving...although you did give quite the impressive display."

Hidan nearly jumped out of his skin, but instead his reflexes tossed another kuani knife towards where the voice had spoke. It was deflected with the flick of a another kunai knife, being held in the hand of none other than the man who had given him all that literature on Jashin-sama. He was smiling wickedly, almost looking pleased.

Sighing and shaking his head heavily, Hidan looked up at the man. "What the fuck do you mean I'm not deserving!? Display!? Were you fucking there!? Have you been watching me this whole time!? I thought you were fucking gone! Why the fuck are you here now!? Where the hell did you come from?" The adrenaline began to return once more as he continued screaming and cursing the monk before him, starting to get to his feet for an attack. However the monk had other ideas.

Rushing forward, he struck out with his foot, knocking Hidan back to the ground flat on his ass, his face going from calm to enraged within the millisecond it took for him to move. "Silence! Do not be so weak! You did exactly as Jashin-sama would want. You have nothing to trouble your mind with now...if anything you _should_ be at peace." The smile returned to his face as his body relaxed. One hand folded over the other below the waist line of the robes as he stared at the startled teenager.

"I, did? That was, that was an accident! I was pissed off and I just reacted, it wasn't planned out...I wasn't even thinking about Him when I did it!" He couldn't bring himself to take credit for something he didn't do, even if it meant looking pitiful in the eyes of his God.

The monk's expression did not change. He chuckled once and moved beside of Hidan, dropping down to one knee and took his hand, lifting him up in a sitting position. Once upright however, the monk did not release his hand. "It's alright to be selfish with your achievements. I myself and guilty of indulging myself into a battle so much that I forget completely I am not fighting for myself alone. Do not be ashamed, Jashin-sama is forgiving of this as long as you pay your respects to Him in the end."

Hidan's attention was caught, he hadn't even noticed the man hadn't released his hand yet. He was too captivated by what he was saying. "How? How do I do that?"

A chuckle was his answer as the monk finally released his hand, moving to sit in front of him now. "It is time for you to begin learning my child. Your day has finally come. First, I will teach you to draw the diagram, and then I will teach you how to pay your respects to Jashin-sama. Stand with me."

Hidan blinked slightly in confusion, but did as he was told. Moving to stand on his legs, he winced slightly as the burnt skin began to tug and pull at him. It was painful but only enough for a tiny reaction. The monk didn't even seem to notice however as he stood with him. Rolling up the sleeve, he exposed his left hand which was covered in thick, ugly scars. Some fresh, some old. Next, he took the kunai knife in his right. "Now, do as I do."

Hidan nodded and held his kunai knife in his left hand, holding out his right to mirror the monk. Seeming satisfied the monk continued. Pulling the kunai knife further out, he drove it through the palm of the opposite hand, groaning as he did so. However the groan didn't sound like that of pain, more like...pleasure.

Watching this in mild confusion, Hidan looked down to his hands. He wasn't certain what he was doing but decided that if this would help him with Jashin-sama, he would do it. God...this was going to hurt like a bitch. Inhaling, he closed his eyes and ran his hand through with the kunai knife. However, his reaction wasn't as...pleased as the monks. "OW! Son of bitch that hurts! Oh for fucks sake, ah! Ow! Ow!" He threw the kunai knife down and held his wounded hand in the other, groaning through his teeth and glancing up at the monk who looked far too amused by the situation than Hidan liked.

"Not one for a scratch are you?" he noted with a chuckle.

Hidan glared at him and held out his hand as if the monk was simply unaware that there was a damned hole in it. "_This_ is not a _scratch_ you ass! For the love of Jashin it hurts!"

Once more the monk chuckled before reaching over and taking the wounded hand in his own, tugging it out to hold it over the grass, once again receiving an earful of complaints from the younger man.

"Ow! Hey, watch it! Stop grabbing it like that, that hurts!"

He was ignored, at least until the appropriate amount of blood had been formed onto the ground.

Finally the monk took a hard step in his own blood, sliding his foot across the grass and smearing it in a circular motion. The continuous dripping from his hand help keep the lines he was making full and smooth, coating the grass in what was appearing as a circle. The diagram of Jashin-sama. Hidan remembered reading this ritual in one of the scriptures. Once he could think past the pain in his hand, he began mimicking the motions, although his triangle was a bit uneven, and the blood made his feet slide a little, so the circle wasn't as smooth as the monks.

Once finished he glanced up at the monk, whom was smiling at him. "It takes practice...now kneel."

Nodding at once, Hidan lowered himself down, the monk following suit until they were both on their knees in the middle of the symbols. Reaching into his pocket, the monk pulled something out. It made a slight, almost jingling noise as he revealed what it was. A rosary with the jashin symbol dangling at the end, made of pure silver and onyx it looked like. He held it out to Hidan until the boy accepted it, amazed at how heavy it actually was. However, he did note the calm that came with holding the rosary in his hands. With everything that was happening, granted he was in a lot of pain right now, he did feel like he was accomplishing something, learning how to really connect with his Lord through the guidance of a senior who had obviously been doing this a lot longer than himself.

Giving the rosary a tight squeeze, he held it there in his hands, letting the blood begin to ooze along the beads. Granted the monk was pleased to see such devotion from somebody outside of where he had come from, he refocused himself. "Now, concentrate. Let your mind be clear of all things around you. Let Him inside of you. You have slaughtered in His name. Express to Him your gratitude, give Him your praise."

He let his eyes fall closed, and granted his discipline as far as mediation went wasn't as good as he wanted it to be, with the monk here with him, helping him through it, he found it much easier to concentrate. He heard his words, and inhaled slowly. He was right. The first thing Jashin-sama would want was how grateful he was to be able to spill the blood of the weak in his name. The thrill gained from it, how he wished to do it again even. He wasn't certain if the amount of chaos was what Jashin-sama expected...so to be safe, he decided that to ask for forgiveness for any short comings would be the best idea. This was a vengeful God, and he didn't want to take any chances.

The silence was heavy, as both of the shinobi prayed in the symbols. Each praying to the same deity for different reasons. Within a lengthy amount of time; not that either of them were really aware of the time, their eyes began to open again, both looking at each other almost peacefully. Hidan had to admit, he had never felt so at ease. He honestly thought he would never be able to feel so...tranquil after such an event. It was almost chilling to think just how powerful this was. When he first arrived in this empty field, he was on an adrenaline rush, and panicked. Now here he was, sitting with a stranger, and without worry.

He watched the monk begin to stand and followed suit, brushing off the grass from his pants as best he could. Glancing up to him, Hidan sighed. "So what now? I mean, I'm grateful that you came here like this I guess, but what am I supposed to do now?"

The monk chuckled once and began to walk past him, clasping his hands together loosely in front of his body. "Come with me. I think you're ready to see about joining my little family group. We're always looking for new members."

Hidan tilted his head curiously and turned to follow behind him. "Family group? How many other Jashinists are there?"

The monk laughed once and shook his head, almost unbelieving that he even had to question it. "My boy, there are plenty like us in the world, more than one would expect that was for sure."

Hidan frowned slightly, starting to feel the pain in his hand again as the muscles clenched and relaxed. Tearing off a bit of his shirt, he wrapped the material around the wound, tying it off tightly to try to clot it at least. "Hey, do I just not get out enough, or are Jashinists relatively unheard of around here?"

The monk continued the walk with him, staying silent for only a moment before his head inclined slightly. "Unfortunately that is correct. Our beliefs are more unknown to people than we would like, but that is why were are here. To spread his word...you seem like you'll be good at that."

Hidan nodded, but then glared at the monks back as he did a double take on his last phrase. "Hey! What are you trying to say with that 'I'll be good at that' crap!?" How dare he insult him! That was so uncalled for!

The monk laughed once more before turning his head more so to look at him. "Well correct me if I am wrong but you've got quite the chatty nature."

His fists clenched at the second insult, his eyes narrowing as he pointed an accusing finger. "Hey fuck you pal! You're a fucking monk it's your job to be long winded and you're calling me chatty!? Hypocrite! Fuck you, you're a hypocrite!"

The monk shook his head and waved an uncaring hand. "Oh settle yourself, I never said I was a _nice_ guy now did I?"

A snort was his answer as Hidan refused to speak to him anymore through the walk after being offended twice in a row. At least until about an hour later when he grew bored of the silence and began looking around at the lands. Where were they going? They had been traveling for a while without stopping, and he was starting to get worn since his body wasn't exactly in it's top condition. How far off did this guy come? Had he been staying around Yugakure this whole time? Did he just happen upon him at the right time? "So...where have you been this whole time? How did you find me tonight of all nights?"

The monk didn't turn his head this time but answered him anyway. "Oh, I've been around here or there. I'm typically the one that travels around in search of good quality shinobi like yourself for our little group, so luck is generally on my side."

Sighing slightly, Hidan shrugged, accepting the answer for now. Only once again silence had fallen between them. He hated to be stuck with the 'strong silent' types while traveling. He always seemed to be put with them, when he would much rather be stuck with someone who at least liked good conversation the way he did. Make the journey a bit more interesting and at least go by faster, but that wasn't happening now was it?


	9. Arrival

**Well here's to another chapter XD Please read and review, reviews are always helpful and it just lets me know you guys are still enjoying this. ^^; Thanks to all!**

The walk lasted for far longer than Hidan was patient for with only enough stops for a few bathroom and water breaks, and each time he tried to start up a conversation with the monk, his comments were deflected or one worded answers were given. He was only made aware of just how long they had been walking when he spotted the bits of white and pink peeking up over the tree tops. Dawn was approaching. He had been awake all night walking with his injuries and he was starting to have problems staying awake. However just when he thought the situation couldn't look more poorly, he sudden tripped over something in the ground, falling face first into a mixture of grass and sand.

The sand that mixed with his burn wounds burned him, making his teeth bite together and his fists clench. The monk turned his head when he heard the shinobi fall to the ground, his brow arching while an amused smirk crossed his face. "Has anybody mentioned to you just how graceful you are for a shinobi?"

Hidan picked his head further up and glared hatefully at him, his tone rising sharply. "Piss off! For the love of Jashin, where are we?" He pushed himself back up to his feet, huffing and grumbling indecipherably as he often did, and brushed the sand from his pants as best he could.

The monk chuckled and turned his head back forward, continuing on with or without the younger man. "Welcome to the land of Wind dear child. This is a place you're going to be very familiar with, if, of course you're deemed worthy."

Hidan's brows furrowed together as he glanced around the wasteland. Nothing but an entire ocean of sand stretched out for what looked like miles before his eyes. The temperature was also rising along with the approaching sunlight, and the wind was starting to pick up, dusting the tiny grands of sand into the air.

He started forward when he realized the monk was walking away, and quickly caught back up to him, slightly behind and to the right of the man. It was just where he was most comfortable. This way he could stop and smell the roses so the speak and get a feel for where he was. So this was Wind Country? A desert wasteland. Just perfect. Now he could be tired, in pain, and hot all at the same time!

Snorting slightly, he continued grumbling underneath his breath for a while, but it did little to make him feel better. The monk feel silent once more, which also ground against Hidan's nerves. How could someone be so quiet for so long? Did he just pretend that nobody else was there with him? Did he think on something the entire time? Did he just space out and let his legs carry him with practiced routine?

"You know, you've hardly said anything this entire time...don't you think you ought to tell me what I'm going to be expecting when we get to wherever it is we're going? How much further is it anyway?" He was rambling and complaining at this point, but he just couldn't help it. It was probably compulsive but he couldn't stand the silence.

The monk sighed heavily but didn't bother turning around to face him. "It is easy to fall into silence if you would simply calm your mind, and you will need no explanation from me either. You're either cut out for it, or you're not, there is no preparation or in between."

He sighed again dramatically, officially over the whole mystical nature of this guy. He got he was a monk, he got he could probably meditate and walk at the same time, but that didn't mean Hidan could. Or wanted to for that matter. It just seemed so alien to him.

"Okay," he started once more, refusing to give up. "And how much further is it?" He failed to answer him the first time after all.

The monk turned his head finally, and Hidan was certain he would get some sort of reaction at this point. Just what he wanted! However, all he got was a dull stare as the monk continued walking forward. "A ways." With that being said, his head turned back forward down the invisible path he seemed to be following through the sand.

Finally irritated Hidan decided right then he was going to tell the guy off. He had been trying to egg him on and would have settled for an argument to make the time pass. After all that was how he and his teammates would pass the time the few times they did do missions. Conversation, debating, arguing, followed by the destination. However when somebody could just deflect him like that and stick to the silent treatment, it drove him mad. It wasn't human to simply ignore all things.

Right when he opened his mouth to bitch once more, the monk spoke up. "I want you to try something for me."

His mouth slammed back shut and his head cocked to one side. "What's that?" Well at least it was something. Hopefully it was something good, but he wouldn't hold his breath. This guy wasn't exactly the pinnacle of entertainment.

Seeming to take his time answering him once more the monk finally began calmly. "Calm your mind. So far, out of everything I have witnessed from you, you're a bundle of nerves. I want you to try to relax. Being anxious is usually what gets shinobi killed and it is a poor reflection of your self discipline. And being among us, discipline is something you're going to have to be well acquainted with less you want to be killed."

Hidan's brow twitched oddly for a moment as he listened. It wasn't exactly what he expected out of the other man, but at least he was giving him something to go on. He did feel eager to get there, and so far little things had been bothering him more than they usually would, the monks silence for example. Breathing in deeply through his nose, he winced slightly at the twinge of pain in his leg, but tried to ignore it for now. Somehow it felt like showing pain would be his undoing wherever it was they were going. Now what to do to relax himself?

Thinking back on old talks with his sensei, he had always told him breathing exercises were a good way to calm yourself down if you felt riled up for something. Might as well try that. Exhaling through his mouth quietly, he let his eyes fall only halfway closed to relax his face, but still watch where he was going. After three or four breaths, he did feel a bit less excited than when he focused so much on how quiet the other man had been. He found that even though he wasn't picking anything particular to focus on aside from his steady breathing, it was somewhat relaxing. Only enough to make him stop badgering the monk ahead of him though. However the man seemed satisfied with this, the walk continuing for another few hours until a large formation of rocks could finally be seen in the distance.

Hidan spotted this, and inwardly grew excited once more. Was this where they were supposed to be going!? Gods above he hoped so. He was so sick of walking. "Is this it!?" He hadn't meant to give away just how eager he actually was but he couldn't help it.

The monk nodded his head silently as they approached the formation. Below one of the platforms of rock, the entrance to what looked like a small cave could be seen. Tilting his head curiously, Hidan moved to be closer to the monks back, wanting to see further just where they were going, but to his disappointment, it was just a regular old cave entrance.

Stepping inside, he was at least grateful to be out of the sun. He was certain the tops of his forearms would be sunburned from this. Walking quietly, he noticed something red in the corner of his eye which caught his attention. Turning his head to better see, he noticed that it was a symbol of Jashin painted on the wall in red. However whether it was paint or blood he couldn't say though the later sounded likely for a group of Jashinists. Looking back ahead he could also spy a source of light coming from around one of the corners. It looked like they were finally getting closer to where the people actually stayed! Moving around the corner, a set of torches had been lined along one side of the dark walls to light the way for the pair of men. That inner anxiety began to return as the purple eyes began darting around, spotting more of the symbols painted on the sides of the walls. However once more he was caught a bit by surprise as they neared a set of what looked like spears standing erect in the ground. A top of the ends rested not only the skulls of stags, but the skulls of men. There was thankfully no foul oder coming from them, but somehow the odd choices of décor had taken Hidan by surprise.

Finally when they exited the narrow walkway, the cave seemed to fully expand. The sound of running water could be heard and upon looking he noticed that it was a flow of completely natural black water. It poured in a steady flow from the top of one of the rocks and pooled out into a medium sized pond around the floor of the cave, only being contained by the higher rocks. Along the cave walls, in what could basically be described as the main room, was a set of six large black cloths that had a more extensive version of the Jashinist symbol. The outer circle had been aligned with odd symbols, and it was in much greater detail. A few wooden tables had been set out around the area, all with a few candles, and a various amount of weaponry including large one to two handed swords, hunting spears, kunai knives, and shuriken set on the surface. Beside of them rested a small stack of scrolls that had been tightly rolled up.

Awe struck, he almost didn't notice the crowd of people that were subtly entering the room from all sides of various exits and entrances. Their dark grey robes making them almost invisible beside of the cave walls. The monk smirked somewhat and took a few steps back to let their curious eyes rest on the potential new member. Hidan, having finally noticed them, felt quite alarmed and glanced at the monk immediately in question. He didn't mind being the new guy, he didn't mind them wanting to get a look at him but the way they were starting to close around him in a large circle, each with a condescending grin on their face, made him feel vulnerable, like prey. They were hunters, and whether or not they worked together to bring down men had yet to be determined. It was odd. He had never before thought of a group of men along the same lines as a lion on the hunt, but this was how they came across to him. They moved in almost choreographed fashion, and it was as if they were waiting for the word to either pounce and tear him apart, or see if he was worthy of becoming one of them. He would never admit it to himself, or anybody else, but fear was trying to well its way into his chest, making it harder to keep his gaze unaffected and somewhat arrogant himself, as if their stares and surprisingly large numbers had no affect on him what so ever.

He could never find the words to describe the relief that came with seeing one part of the circle move aside, revealing a single man in a set of black robes with intricate red design and silver prayer beads hanging from the obi, with the Jashinist symbols dangling from the ends, while the front of the robe was pinned securely around his shoulders with a silver clasp, again the clasp itself being decorated with the same symbol. His long, stock straight, platinum blonde hair was pushed back with what his face was covered with. The skull of a stag, much like the ones on the spears, but the upper pallet had been removed to reveal more of his nose and mouth, the antlers in an impressive count of eight. In the forehead of the skull, a small red gem had been set. Hidan was no expert, but upon looking, he might could say it was a garnet. It was obvious, to an internally painful degree, just where the power of this place lay. Not only that, but the closer he got, even without being a sensor ninja, Hidan could feel the level of chakra radiating from this man.

He had to fight with his legs, not to inch backwards. That would show weakness and submission, and more than likely, seal his demise. However his eyes gave him away as they seemed to subtly widen wit each step the man took towards him. Not only was his demeanor reeking of power, but there was a soft, inviting smile on the smooth, handsome face. It was a trap. Those types of smiles invited you in with a warm promise, only for you to enter and receive a blade in your back. Was such a deceitful person really Jashin-sama's High Priest? All curiosity was halted when he spoke, his voice laced with what couldn't be described any other way, than poisoned honey.

"Welcome newcomer."


	10. Thrown To The Wolves

**Dear readers. I apologize a thousand times over for the delay in chapters D= I have been procrastinating this one since it is just now starting to be a major pick up point in the story in a while. The Yugakure half was very tedious for me so it sort of killed my motivation to keep writing this, plus I am worried about keeping everything believable and realistic for Nartuoverse...anyway reviews are always very encouraging to me and I always read them and appreciate each and everyone ^-^ Just helps me remember that yes people read and enjoy this and my efforts aren't completely wasted. I am working very hard to continue the development of the cult since we were left with literally nothing aside from the few episodes with Hidan included in them and the wikias provided little insight. Also I'd like to throw out an apology ahead of time since I feel like some of this was...unrealistic and rushed =/ So again I apologize if it isn't the smoothest read. Here is the next chapter and please let me know your thoughts. =D**

Hidan hesitated in answering. What did you say to that anyway? Thank you? Surely not. He stayed silent for now, simply staring at him with wide, curious eyes. However the onyx irises turned away from him, looking at the monk he had journeyed there with.

"Well brother, you certainty went out of your way for this one. I trust you have good reason?" Looking at the boy, there didn't seem to be much to him. If anything, in his eyes, Hidan looked rather dull. The monk chuckled at the leader of the group, and his head dipped in a half nod. "Yes Taromaru-sama. You see, I personally witnessed the potential of this one. There is a village due south of here called, Yugakure."

The leader listened quietly, only dully noticing a flash of bitterness in the young shinobi's eyes at the name of the village. Hidan was not proud of where he came from. It was a disgrace to the name shinobi, and basically the middle finger to all Jashinists everywhere. Tourist attraction indeed.

"Well, it is currently nothing more than an empty ruin thanks to the efforts of this young man, all in the name of Jashin-sama."

Taromaru's eyes seemed to become sharper with interest, his head turning once more to look at Hidan. That would explain where the blood and burn wounds came from on the boy. "So, you _are_ aware of who we are then? Usually we are brought with completely green members, and must teach them from the beginning...this is pleasing to the ears."

Hidan perked up his head slightly and nodded firmly, his own eyes meeting with Taromaru's. "Yea I'm aware alright. I've not been following this for very long, but I'm completely devoted to what I have studied."

Taromaru smirked slightly, challenge flashing through his eyes while his head cocked to one side. "We shall see...how about a little test first new blood?"

As if on cue to the man's word, the large number of smirking people seemed to shorten their circle around their leader and Hidan, making the silver haired shinobi's nerves grind together. They were so potent with their movements, especially in a large group, how could he not be ready to react on an instant? These people made their intentions so painfully clear unlike most shinobi, it was suffocating. Then again, the teachings of Jashin went against deception, so it made sense. However that didn't put his mind or body at ease with him being the new guy.

His shoulders tensed and his teeth bite together as his brow furrowed, his eyes never leaving Taromaru's. "What test?" The words were ground together as he finally shifted away from one side of the group to be closer to the monk whom had brought him in the first place. However upon a swift glance, he too was standing in the group, seeming to wait for an order to pounce.

Taromaru chuckled slightly, taking a step away from Hidan and reaching blindly into the crowd, fishing around with his hand until his fingers wrapped around the sleeve of a random boy in the ranks. He looked just a few years older than Hidan, but his eyes were hardened. He had definitely seen more battle in his day than Hidan, not that it meant anything.

Glaring, Hidan reached to grab his bo staff only to realize that he didn't have it anymore. All he had was the kunai knife he had used on the village in his pouch to defend himself! Beads of sweats glistened over his forehead as his rival pulled out a pair of wakizashi. Just perfect. On top of that, the circle of eager Jashinists was limiting their space to near nothing, giving him almost no room to fight. Looks like he would just have to make due with what little room they were giving him.

Once again Taromaru's voice rang out in the crowd, a wicked grin spreading over his face. "It's simple really. Kill him before he kills you...if you live, you're in! Now go! Let's see you spill the blood of a brother in the name of Jashin-sama!" Laughter boomed from his chest, his growing excitement radiating to the group, causing each of them to grip some hidden weapon in their robes and plant their feet to the cave floor. It seemed that even though the fight was numbered to two, they all were going to want a piece of the action as well. Perfect. Now he had to fight and watch out for somebody trying to lance him in the back on top of it!

Not another moment was wasting as the pair of twirling tips of the wakizashi were tossed towards his face, his imbedded shinobi reactions saving him as his hand flew up to block with the kunai. Sparks flew as the tips of the other boys blades slide off of the metal of the kunai knives, Hidan trying to move backwards to get some room to breath. However he was reminded of his limited space when he spotted the flash of another blade swinging at his back from one of the many faces in the crowd. He was forced forward again, however his body thankfully was acting faster than his brain could function. Everything was happening so fast, and this other punk was skilled. His heart raced and his grip was beginning to slip on his weapon thanks to the building sweat on his hands.

His chest heaved as pants began to beat from his chest, blow after blow being traded but none had yet been landed. It turned out this one was about as stingy for life as Hidan was. His eyes were wide and his smile was wider as he continued attempting to not only attack Hidan, but defend himself from offending weapons from his fellow Jashinists who were trying every way possible to cause bloodshed. The sound of his heartbeat began to fill his ears, sweat starting to run down into his eyes as he fought the assailant. He had to find a way to get in a hit. If he could manage just one, with how close proximity they were being forced into, he could finish him off within the next second.

However before he could strike again, he felt his side being torn into by someone striking out from behind him. He had been so focused on the one attacking him from the front, he had forgotten to watch out for the crowd. As his hand flew to cover the wound, the attacking dual wielder cackled loudly and cried out in a shrill whoop. "Yes! Yes that's what I want! Can you feel it!? Doesn't it just make you feel so alive!? To feel what fuels your very life washing over your entire body!?" He cackled once more, spinning the pair of blades in his hand once more as Hidan glared viciously at him.

"Shut your fucking mouth! Just wait till I cut your throat!" This was such a load of shit! What nerve did this guy have to gloat in his face like that? Anger now fueling him, he kicked backwards towards the crowd to try to at least get them away from his wound, before lunging forward with the kunai knife with the intent to kill.

Taromaru watched eagerly, his smile never once wavering. So perhaps he had judged the boy too soon. It seemed the with the inner rage he held, he could be very well worth something to the group. That is if he lived long enough to kill his opponent. Feeling his own fingers itching, he reached to his back and clutched the triple bladed scythe he had strapped to his back, the glistening ruby blades flashing from the light of the torches lined along the walls of the cave. His index finger toyed with the steel coils that linked the blade to his hip, itching to toss it into the fray simply to cause more bloodshed to the fight, however with as many members in the way as there were, he decided against it. No sense in getting everybody so stirred up that they began literally attack each other. Some might label it barbaric, but despite an outsiders belief; that his group of holy men and women acted like a pack of savage beasts, this was simply their way of life. It was just too easy for Jashinists to get carried away in the midst of battle. Hell one might go as far as to say that forcing a Jashinist to watch a fight rather than participate was almost sadistic.

His thoughts were broken however as cheering roared over the crowd, weapons being tossed into the air, the sound of a body hitting the rocks echoing through the room. His brow cocked and he stepped forward but was pleasantly surprised to see Hidan standing over the body of the now former Jashinist. His chest had been punctured and it looked like the blade had pierced his very heart. The onyx irises lifted to see the face of the newest member. His chest rose and fell rapidly and his eyes were wide set but fury boiled beneath the purple gaze. His teeth were bared and he was looking from person to person, as if he expected them to simply ignore the fact that he had won, and attack him next.

Chuckling pleasantly, Taromaru's hand lifted up and he whistled loudly to catch their attention. The hollers and cheers died down slowly, and soon he had all eyes on him. The savage grin on his face soon diminished back to the charming smile he had used to greet Hidan with earlier, his hand extending out to the young shinobi. "We welcome you into our family brother Hidan-san."

This caught Hidan's attention as he worked to slow his breathing down, starting to relax his defensive stance in seeing that nobody else was going to try to cut a piece of him.

Seeing that he had the boy's attention captured for now, Taromaru continued. "I shall assign to you brother Junpei-san to be your mentor. He shall inform you of how we function here as followers of Jashin-sama. So I leave you in his capable hands until you are ready for a second rank test. Until then." Dipping his head in a half nod, he replaced the large scythe on his back and turned away from the group, returning to his duties, the rest of the crowd seeming to also loose interest and return to what they were doing. Hidan only dully noted that the body of his opponent was being dragged away to some unknown place in the cave. His eyes followed curiously but he was distracted when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

His head spun to the side as he was meet with another hooded monk, the one he assumed to be this, Junpei guy. "Well Hidan-san, it seems you and I are going to be very well acquainted for a time. Come with me and I'll show you to your quarters and introduce you to your new roommate."

Hidan blinked in confusion for a moment, mostly just at how quickly these people could go from jumping up and down in excitement, to acting as calm and casual like nothing had ever even happened. It was mildly disturbing. Pointing to the tunnel where the body had been drug off too he started off in confusion. "Where are they taking him?"

Junpei turned his head to see what the boy had meant, but waved a casual hand, turning back to lead him away. "The funeral chambers where he will be cremated and his ashes stored away for his services to Jashin-sama. He is only deserving of nothing less after all the years he has put in for Jashin-sama."

Hidan shook his head slightly, taking one last glance over his shoulder before looking back up at his mentor. Deserving of nothing less? If he didn't know any better, he'd say Junpei sounded almost relieved. Was there some bad blood between him and the other boy? "You sound happy about that," Hidan tested.

Junpei chuckled pleasantly, nodding his head as he lead Hidan through the cave to where a set of doors were lined along the walls of the cave on either side. "Of course. He has been lifted of his duties to his Lord and Master, and his suffering on this world can now end. You will learn that one of our main phrases that we live by here is 'Rejoice for a Death, and Mourn for a Birth.' It is something I personally will inform you more of later after you get settled in and I finish my duties for the day." The phrase replayed itself in Hidan's mind a few times, his brow furrowing. He hadn't read that anywhere before, but he decided to simply take Junpei's word on it for now and look it up himself later.

Moving through the tight and narrow hallways of the cave walls, Hidan stayed rather silent the entire time as he mindlessly followed behind his new mentor. His mind was still going over the events of the day, and his body was starting to feel heavy from the wounds. Come to think of it, it felt as though his burns might actually be bleeding now. He usually never really felt worn over much of anything, but even with his high stamina level, he could honestly say, the first bed he saw he was claiming and diving face first.

Eventually Junpei paused in his step, knocking softly on the surface of a rather old fashioned looking wooden door with thick hinges. His brow cocked as Junpei pushed it open with his hand, peeking inside and stepping further in, motioning for Hidan to follow him.

"Shou-san, look alive you have a new friend waiting to meet you."

Hidan frowned slightly, but stepped inside of the room beside of Junpei, looking at his apparent new roommate, who was still in the process of sitting up. He looked the boy over, and had to say, he seemed to speak for himself. Everything about this guy seemed to want to attract attention. His bright green hair was pulled back into about four braids. His skin was pale, almost sickly looking, but then again, the same could be said for everyone he had spotted. Must have been one of the perks from living underground. A pair of devastatingly orange eyes looked at Hidan through their groggy gaze, his face seeming only somewhat curious of the stranger in his room.

"Huh, so you're the new guy eh?"

Hidan blinked slightly, moving aside to let Junpei back out of the room. Closing the door behind him, Hidan took a seat on the bed placed across from Shou.

"Yea, seems everyone's a lot more informed than I am. People knew I was coming and I had no idea what to expect." His tone was somewhat bitter, still not being happy about what might as well have been an ambush.

Shou laughed good naturedly and waved a hand. "Yea you'll get used to that. We're kind of reclusive around here so information leaking outside of here's unheard of." Chuckling softly, his eyes lowered down Hidan's legs, his brows knitted together. "You might want to change your pants before someone sees that."

Hidan's head ducked down at once, his eyes scanning over the fabric of his pants, noticing the red stain that was spreading along his lower legs. "Shit...I don't exactly have anything else to wear...why is it a big deal though? It's just blood...isn't that sort of normal around here?"

Shou stared at him in a dull form of disbelief. "Well, yea it's normal but it also means you're hurt...hurt around here is fair game." Hidan stared at him for a moment as he watched him stand up and begin to shuffle around the room.

"If that's true then why aren't you trying to kill me?" What was the game here? There was no way that he was just extending a friendly hand. Was he?

Laughing lightly, Shou continued to shuffle around the room until he pulled out a small box from the inside of his nightstand. Setting the box down on top of the bed, he pulled out a small roll of medical tape, and gauze wraps. "Despite what I've been taught, I guess I'm just not as bloodthirsty as most of the others around here. Everyone will tell you that I'm the lazy man of the group. Here, get yourself wrapped up and I'll loan you a set of robes that might fit you until Junpei-san can get you a set of your own."

Hidan caught the wrap and tape as it flown towards his face, smirking at it slightly and taking starting to strip himself of his shirt, tossing it on top of the bed. Shou watched quietly, but his face became rather blank when he watched Hidan's pants follow his shirt on top of the bed, leaving him completely nude and rather unashamed. "Umm." He tried to think of more to say to keep the situation from growing more awkward than it already was, but nothing would come to his mind. He was snapped out of his thoughts immediately though when he watched Hidan turn his head to face him, his eyes somewhat set in a glare. Then again, it seemed that glaring was his one's main form of communication.

"What?" he demanded. Shou's mouth parted to give the explanation but only empty air would pass through. Another bark from Hidan was what finally got him to form words.

"You just...you know...drop your pants anywhere you feel like?"

Hidan scoffed slightly as he took a hold of the bandages and began to wrap his leg after trying to wipe away most of the blood rather unsuccessfully. This was why he never considered being a medic. "Ah for fuck's sake you're not one of _those _people are you?!" he shouted accusingly. "C'mon you wouldn't think being in the buff would bother someone like you."A Jashinist being shy over the human body? Not exactly something he saw coming. He didn't mind being naked, and he didn't mind naked people. He really couldn't grasp why it was so taboo in the world.

Shou jumped slightly at, what was to him, a sudden mood swing. Jezz, he only asked a question, was this guy bi polar? He held up his hands defensively and shook his head. "I didn't say it bothered me, it's just...nobody is usually _that _comfortable with themselves is all so it's not something I saw coming. Chill."

Hidan rolled his eyes somewhat, wanting to say more on the matter, but letting it drop for now as he went to work taping the bandages in place. At least this would help it heal over better. He glanced up as Shou held out a set of grey robes for him. The fabric looked worn, and the ends of the sleeves were tattered and somewhat stained with what couldn't be anything else but blood, and if he didn't know any better, the ends of the sleeves looked burned in some places. Was this guy a fire user? Either way, he accepted the robes with an inaudible thanks and dressed himself after tending to his wounds, much to the gratitude of his roommate.

**Well guys what do you think? Good, Bad? Tell you what, if I can squeeze at least 20 reviews over all for this story, I'll post chapter 11, sound fair to you guys?We're already at 12 reviews currently, so let's see if we can ooze 8 more! I was looking over my views and traffic graph, and it seems that 698 people have viewed it but only 12 have actually commented XD Granted I do appreciate and do back flips when I do see new reviews, more is always encouraging for me ^-^ Thanks in advance you guys! MM**


	11. Us From Them

**(WARNING. This is a pretty graphic chapter towards the end, so if you can't handle animal slaughter, turn away now.)**

**Well so much for those 20 reviews XD Lazy readers! Nah guys it's cool. Hopefully the chapters will pick up and the story will get more reviews in time. Here's to another chapter and I still encourage for viewers to give me their thoughts. Good, bad, how is the pacing, is it clear, interesting, is it believable enough that you could possibly see it as canon enough for what little information is listed? Let me know please...Please!? ...*facedesk***

About a month passed by slowly and Hidan had been in an entirely new wave of training for most of that time. Not to his surprise, very little of it consisted of actual shinobi training. In fact, there hadn't really been any actual training as far as shinobi work was concerned. Not that he was disappointed, or surprised, but as far as the group was concerned, shinobi training was all on your own time. You were self taught unless you sought out a Sensei for yourself. It wasn't a bad deal really, but Hidan knew his skills as a shinobi could greatly be improved given he left his village at a genin level shinobi. That was just unacceptable for him. However that would have to be tended to after his duties to Jashin-sama. His worship came before anything else, no questions asked. That much had been made clear from the very beginning.

That afternoon; not that he could tell what time it really was thanks to being underground at all times, Hidan found himself moving through the cave rather aimlessly. His mind wandered about, mostly revolving around his experiences thus far as a Jashinist. However once again he found himself thinking on his new mentor, then again he spent most of his time these days with the man.

Junpei was fine as far as a mentor was concerned, he spent hours at a time teaching Hidan one on one about everything he needed to know as a Jashinist. Most of them consisting of how many rules there are explaining what is forbidden, what is expected of you, and punishments should you fail in your duties. About eighty percent of those punishments were of course death, each death varying, depending on which rule you fail to follow. They were quite strict on rules as a matter of fact. However, they were a set of rules Hidan could agree with. So unlike Yukagure, he respected these rules and worked to become an obedient servant for Jashin.

He took a seat on one of the wooden seats lined against the cave walls, and inhaled deeply, taking moment to rest. He was honestly just looking for a way to kill time until Junpei came for him. Something that apparently needed discussing. Usually this was the time Hidan would go to the surface with Shou to spare and practice his taijutsu, however that would have to wait until another time.

His attention wasn't caught again until he spotted someone rounding the corner to where he was. Which wasn't unusual really, but he still liked to keep an eye on everybody. In the long run, trusting a fellow Jashinist with your safety was about as safe as sleeping in a bed of angry scorpions. However he was mildly surprised to see Taromaru approaching the spot where Hidan was sitting. His steps were slow and smooth, his hair slowly swaying side to side with each stride, and his trademark grin was plastered on his smooth face.

A chill of excitement raced down Hidan's spine at the sight of the man. Even though his time spent there was short, each day he spent listening to the words of the group's leader, he grew to respect and admire the man more and more. He was so incredibly devoted to Jashin and, he was so full of knowledge and wisdom, he always took extra time to teach the lower ranks, he was a strong leader, a strong shinobi, and his faith was unwavering. One day, Hidan's goal was to become like that. To have that unwavering faith, to know your purpose in life and to embrace your role as a servant for Jashin whole heartedly.

He glanced up when Taromaru paused in front of him, his head turning to look a Hidan wordlessly. For a moment, both men were silent. However Hidan couldn't stand how heavy it was making the air feel. His lips parted a moment as he tried to think of something to say to break the silence, but words wouldn't form. Did Taromaru even want for him to speak? What was he doing? It was...somewhat unusual. Hidan tried to peer at the man's eyes but it was difficult to get a good look. The shadows dancing along the walls from the torches, made it hard for him to see the man's expression, and looking through that deer skull didn't exactly help.

A soft chuckle was the first noise to cut through the silence before Taromaru finally spoke. "Junpei-san informs me you are doing well...and at such a fast rate. It isn't often we receive such young members who are as devout as you are."

A thin grin tugged the corners of Hidan's mouth at the unexpected praise. He straightened his back somewhat and inclined his head more upward to look at the man. "That right? Heh, I can't imagine anything else I'd rather do. Still...I can't compete with someone like you and Junpei-san yet."

"Yet," he assured. Turning the rest of his body to face Hidan, Taromaru seemed to grow more interested in the conversation. "However, if you continue on with your studies and pay great head to everything Junpei-san has to teach you, someday, perhaps you also be rewarded with the title of Priest. It has been quite some time since we have had a new Priest, but I am willing to bet that times may change. That is unless you somehow, Jashin forbid, loose this drive you have...or die."

Hidan's brows furrowed at the very mention of even hypothetically loosing the determination he had for his faith. Shaking his head firmly, he spoke out a little more harshly than he had meant to. Then again, tone control was his weakest point.

"Not a chance. There is nothing else out there for me, and I've learned so much so fast...this place has done more for me than my village could ever hope to do. I'd _rather_ die than loose the motivation to keep pleasing Jashin-sama." After all, without the will to do well for the one you serve, what good is a person? After all, human beings were meant to be lead by a greater power.

Taromaru watched him for a moment, seeming to take in what he was saying. However the smile never once flickered. "Your words are strong and sure, however we shall see just how far you are willing to go. It's easy to say and want to do well...it's another process entirely to actually go the distance and push past all odds for the sake of being the best servant a man on this earth can possibly be. However I'll let you in on something."

He took a moment to pause, watching as Hidan was leaning in closer with great interest. Not only was this his first actual discussion with Taromaru, but a semi private lesson. This was like a gold mine for someone like him.

Once confident he had Hidan's undivided attention, he continued. "They say faith can move mountains. If your faith is sure, and your devotion sound, you can accomplish great things." He paused once more, taking a step forward towards Hidan and leaning in, locking gazes him. Hidan's breath caught, his heartbeat seeming to pause just so he could catch what was coming next. "Let me just say this...between you and I. You came to us as a nobody. No name, no face, no purpose. You obviously desired more for yourself, and so Jashin-sama offered you something priceless. A purpose in life. A reason to exist. You chose wisely. However, this is the end of what he will selflessly hand over to you. You see, most faiths consist of Gods giving protection, comfort, and great promises their followers. They become sheep. They follow after a God because they grow accustomed to being a follower and relying on their Gods for everything like lost children. They stop thinking for themselves and try to pass everything problem wise off to their Gods. Jashin-sama is different because unlike those Gods, after he has offered you a path in life, it becomes your job to not only serve him with undying loyalty in return for what he has given to you, but to remain independent and function on your own. If you have a problem in life, it is nobody else's job to solve it _but_ your own. Just to be able to continue thinking for yourself and to keep yourself as strong as you can possibly be. Unlike most Gods, he will not save you from disease, he will not restore lost sight, he will not comfort and nurture you like some surrogate mother, and he will not offer second chances and forgive you if you make a mistake and sin under his name. Once you have sinned as one of his followers, you not only disgrace him, but your name becomes tarnished, and eternal punishment is all that awaits. It's as simple as that. Jashin-sama encourages for his followers to be devoted to him and obey yes, but as far as day to day life is concerned, it is sickening for him to watch a follower become complacent and to rely on others for everything. Do you understand? Bear this in mind daily, and you have my word that you will not only survive this world as a good shinobi; which I know is something you personally are striving towards, but as a good servant of Jashin-sama. And nothing would make him more proud, than to only have his best followers at his side when our time in this world is over. Isn't that something to be proud of? To have your God select you over somebody else because of your loyalty to him? To me, there would be no greater gift. That to me, is worth fighting for."

Hidan was awestruck, and for once speechless. His eyes were full of an almost childish wonder as his jaw hung open slightly. Taromaru had the ability to go on and on about nothing but his undying faith to Jashin-sama, and hearing him speak about how it was worth the struggle to do well was completely inspiring to Hidan. He couldn't even bring himself to be defensive over Taromaru saying he was once a nobody. If he was totally honest with himself, and really considered the reality of it...he _was_ a nobody. He came from a village that will undoubtedly be a running joke among minor countries and great nations alike for what they did, he had no true path to follow, only an idea for a path, he was a poor shinobi compared to others which he blamed his soft hearted Sensei for, he just had and was nothing. Now, he had the chance to be somebody. To not only grow stronger, but to have a source for that strength. Taromaru was right. Jashin-sama not only gave him a path, but something to fight for and believe in. There was hope. There was a reason to go on living.

Somehow, even after such an intense discussion, Hidan found himself feeling serenity for the first time in his life. True inner peace. His smile widened as he glanced up to Taromaru. "You're right. About everything. I want to make a name for myself Taromaru-sama...I want to please Jashin-sama, and I want to be stronger. No, I want more...I, I...I don't know what I want, but I want more. For the love of...why don't more people know about this? Sure there are plenty here, but how come more people on the streets don't know about this like other Gods?"

Taromaru smirked somewhat, his arms folding as he snorted lightly. "Because either they do know, and fear our ways because they are ignorant and weak, or our missionaries usually are killed in combat. It is no newsflash that Jashinists are suckers for a good battle. Our teachings are to never back down from a fight even against all odds, and to embrace the idea of death. So naturally a Jashinist on their own looking to spread the word of Jashin, as any good missionary does, will do so mostly via example and die for what they believe in. As honorable as it is, it reduces our numbers greatly and as a result, less and less can be enlightened of our ways."

Hidan lowered his eyes slightly, hating to hear such a tragic tale. Of course, the most sound religion out there, and the ones who's job it is to spread the word wind up dead faster than other Jashinists. What a load of shit. It was frustrating for Hidan because to him, everybody deserved to know about this faith. Everybody deserved a chance to be saved, but how could that happen when the missionaries can't resist a one sided battle? It was a problem.

Taromaru halted in his speech however when he spotted Junpei rounded the same corner he himself had come from. Junpei also spotted the pair and Hidan's hard expression before stopping at once and seeming somewhat caught off guard. "Oh, Taromaru-sama...forgive my interruption, I was just looking for Hidan-san here, but I can come for him later if you're-" He was silenced when the blonde lifted a pale hand, waving it nonchalontly.

"Not at all, we were just finishing up here. I got caught in my weakness for speech but I have arraignments to prepare for tonight's ceremony, so I must be on my way now." Junpei offered a polite bob of his head, as did Hidan as Taromaru hurried off, apparently spending more time on chatting than he meant to.

Hidan then turned to look at Junpei, rising to his feet. "You're late."

The older man chuckled somewhat and nodded his head, moving beside of Hidan to lead him through the cave walls. "Yes, yes I'm aware. Apologies, but my attention was required elsewhere..so you seemed rather involved just then. I take it your time with Taromaru-sama was eventful?"

Hidan laughed dryly, as if that was even a matter of question. "I can see now today more than ever why he leads us. I swear he could loose me all day if he would just keep talking like that...he's so informative and he's just so spiritually solid. I swear one day I want to be like that. I want my faith to be that strong."

Junpei glanced over towards the younger man and smiled somewhat, nodding his head in agreement. "He has that affect on people. He's been blessed with a silver tongue and a long wind. He's the best leader this group has seen in years...you know why though don't you?"

Hidan's brow furrowed a moment at the question. Why? Why was Taromaru so devout did he mean, why was he a good leader? What difference did it make why? "Uh, no," he answered honestly. This earned him a chuckle but Junpei clapped a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Hidan-san...the reason why he leads us as strongly as he does, is truly a miracle of itself. He is the son of Jashin-sama."

Hidan felt his jaw drop nearly to the floor, his eyes widening the size of dinner plates as the information was offered. He rounded on Junpei within the next second, stammering dumbly for a moment. "What say that again!? Does everyone here know about that?! How can he be his son!?" You could practically hear the exclamation points at the end of his sentences as his voice nearly cracked. Junpei couldn't help but laugh at his student's reaction, placing a hand over his stomach to dull the aching that came with it.

"Calm down Hidan, don't get so excited. Yes, nearly everybody here knows this, and I figured you would appreciate knowing as well. Taromaru came to us from a hidden shrine that he introduced us to that's actually out past tea country. Even our previous leader could tell he was more informed about Jashin-sama than he was."

Hidan interjected at this, wanting answers preferably as fast as his brain was forming questions. "Wait, did you know the leader before him then?" Just how old was Junpei exactly? Hidan knew he was one of the oldest in the group, if not the oldest, but he had never asked him just how far did it go?

Junpei nodded his head as he continued walking Hidan through the cave. "Yes I did. He lead the group when I was a child and Taromaru-sama here as been leading us for over twenty years now after killing him." Again Hidan found himself dumbstruck. So Junpei was pretty well up there in his age, and the son of Jashin had slaughtered the previous leader in order to take on the job. That was a lot of history in one day.

Exhaling deeply, he looked over to Junpei once more, seeming to still be curious on something. "I can't take anymore surprises today...tell me about this ceremony Taromaru-sama's working on?"

Junpei laughed once more, seeming endlessly amused by Hidan and his reactions to certain situations.

"That is what we are going to do now actually. I need to get you prepared. Everybody will be there and we will all be meeting on the surface at sundown."

At this Hidan quirked a thin silver brow, seeming once again lost as to what was going on. Obviously something big if it called for an entire gathering on the surface. "What exactly will we be doing?"

Turing to face the younger man, Junpei seemed to think of the best way to explain just what it was that was going on.  
"Hmm. Well, you see, what happens is based around an old legend. I'll explain it to you first and the rest will make more sense. Ages ago, there was a story of a warrior shinobi who had been fatally wounded during battle on the night of a new moon. This was well before the first Hokage's time mind you, so these were battles that when injured, you were expected to die. Anyway, this shinobi managed to survive through the rest of the battle and afterwards, drug his limp body into the forest that happened to be nearby. Well, just before his body could give out, Jashin-sama approached him in the flesh."

At the sound of this Hidan, took an unconscious step closer to Junpei, who in turn leaned away slightly, not really expecting for Hidan to become so interested. "Really? Where does it say that? I've never read this legend in any of the books you gave me. I know it's not there I read them all twice now. What did he do? What did he look like? Gods can take on any form they want can't they? What happened next?"

Junpei blinked a moment before bumping Hidan in the side with his elbow, mostly to try to get his personal space back. "Relax, I'm getting to that. Stories say that he appeared to the man as a giant tiger. Upon looking at the man, Jashin-sama could see his love of combat instantly. So he offered the man eternal life, in exchange for eternal servitude. If he spread the word of Jashin-sama's teachings, and promised to follow those teachings himself, he could live and fight forever without running the risk of being killed ever again. Well this shinobi of course said yes, and was granted eternal life just as promised, becoming also what was known as the first Jashinist in recorded history. So there in that very same forest, he built a shrine in order to preform sacrificial ceremonies for Jashin-sama during the new moon. This was to show his eternal gratitude for his gift. This is also the very same shrine that Taromaru hailed from, and to this day, it is watched and protected by other Jashinists, who still preform this ceremony. So, as you can imagine; every new moon, we too preform this ritual, to show our gratitude to Jashin-sama for his enlightenment towards us. You've not read it before in those books I gave you, because it is only recorded in a very specific passage in one of many set of books that only Taromaru has access to."

Hidan listened intently to the tale, making sure to store away for later use that he would have to somehow get his hands on these books. It wasn't enough for him to just hear stories. He had to know for himself. He wanted to know everything there was about his God. Just how old was this faith? What does one have to do to be as close to Jashin-sama as possible during a lifetime? Is there a way? Then it hit him. Eternal life. Eternal life meant a way for the word of Jashin to be spread. A way for the word to be spread without the risk of being killed over differing opinions. If a missionary were granted with such a gift...no...if he were granted with such a gift. Now he had a goal. Now he knew what he wanted. He wanted to be as close as possible to his God, in exchange for eternal life, so that he could forever spread the word of Jashin to all of those poor lost souls out there. However...this was something he knew that he would have to do on his own. That was the way of Jashin. You do everything on your own. And so he would. He would find a way...somehow. Briefly he couldn't help but wonder what happened to the supposedly immortal shinobi that had encountered Jashin-sama...and even then...if Taromaru was Jashin-sama's heir...did he have the gift? Of course announcing such a thing aloud to too many people would be foolish, because then you would basically be a walking target. However he was still curious. Surely the son of Jashin was blessed with such a gift, right?

Glancing over towards Junpei, who had been staring at him for quite some time now, Hidan tilted his head slightly and questioned. "So...does legend say what happened to that shinobi? The immortal one."

Gravely Junpei shook his head and sighed heavily. "No Hidan-san...it was never revealed who the shinobi was, or what has become of him now...there is a chance that perhaps somewhere out there such a man still roams around but we may never know. He could be anywhere." Taking a moment to mull over the possibilities, Junpei eventually shook his head and turned back to Hidan. "Well either way, we have a job to do now. Come, this is your first ceremony and you need to be ready. I'll have to get you changed and then we'll go to the surface. Taromaru-sama will take over from there."

Nodding his head, Hidan eagerly followed Junpei to his personal quarters where the man moved to the end of his bed. At the foot of the bed was a large trunk that was apparently used for storage. Upon opening said trunk, Junpei pulled out a pair of robes, but these were different than the current robes that Jashinists wore.

These robes, rather than off black to dark grey, were pure jet black. However not only this, but the white design that covered the back vaguely resembled...almost a skeleton. The sleeves also had white markings along them, only the designing was more abstract and elaborate. The same Jashinist clasp used on the traditional everyday robes was present, and Hidan noticed that on Junpei's set, the ends of the sleeves looked...almost burned.

He took the extra set of robes that Junpei passed over to him and set them on the top of the bed for now. Reaching for his current robes, he opened them and stepped out, revealing the naked flesh beneath. Folding them up haphazardly, and placing them on the bed, he reached for the ceremonial robes, but Junpei stopped him by taking his wrist.

Hidan turned his head to look at Junpei in question, but for a moment the man just stood there, gripping his wrist. It was odd for Junpei given that the man rarely got within arms length of anybody, and the fact that Hidan figured himself being naked would make it if anything, awkward for Junpei to be near him. However, Junpei seemed perfectly fine with him standing there naked. "Uh, Junpei-nii?" He watched the older man's eyes do a quick sweep up and down for a moment, and he seemed to be pondering something. However, before he could question again, Junpei finally spoke up. "I've got a few things for you...I meant to give you all of this including the robes yesterday but I never got around to it...put these on." He released the grip on Hidan's wrist, and took a step back, fishing around the trunk for something else.

Placing an unsure hand on the spot where Junpei was holding, Hidan noticed it was oddly warm. He still wasn't sure why stopping him from dressing had to involve holding him like that but whatever worked he supposed...it was just odd. His thoughts were once again cut short when a rough sort of jingling filled his ears, the sight of something off white sailing towards his head. He caught the objects in his hand and noted it was jewelry. Bone jewelry. One of the pieces was a pair of arm bangles that looked like they were pieced together by some unknown animal's ribs, however when he took the necklace, it dawned on him just what these were. It was a necklace made entirely out of human bones. Each piece of bone separated off at least five human teeth, forming a complete pattern all they way around until the necklace was full. He blinked a moment, mildly disturbed by this, however it didn't stop him from slipping both items on, followed by the new set of robes.

Turning to Junpei, whom once again was staring at him, Hidan cocked a brow and finally questioned. "What?! What do you keep looking at? Do I have something in my hair what?"

This seemed to snap Junpei out of some thought but the man merely laughed, waving a hand. "Oh nothing important..come on, we need to get to the surface." Without another word, he strode past Hidan, who still looked unsatisfied, but had no choice but to accept the answer. Sighing heavily, he followed after the man through the cave until the exit finally came into view.

Stepping out, he was greeted by a large gust of wind followed by grains of sand traveling after it. The sand hitting him upside the head was unwelcomed and earned a vulgar curse from Hidan as he put the hood of the robes up to protect his face from any more assaults. Junpei chuckled a lead him to the top of the caves entrance, where sand finally parted way to reveal the hard rock. It was only then Hidan noticed what everybody was gathered around. A large amount of logs and sticks were stacked up in a tee pee like fashion. There was also a large beam pole in the center of the wood, where a collared whimpering dog, a goat, and a set of five small colourful caged birds were bound. Hidan glanced at the terrified animals for a moment before looking at Junpei. So this was the set up to one of these ceremonies? He had to say as far as how heavy the atmosphere felt with anticipation, this wasn't disappointing. It was then he noticed Taromaru pushing his way through the front until he was standing in front of the set of wood, facing the crowd. The robes he wore were a bright, crimson red with gold trim, and intricate black designs decorating the chest, sleeves, and back of the robes. His hands were now covered with jeweled rings set in gold bands, and the blonde locks were woven and styled with a strange black vine that looked to be thorned, causing tiny drops of blood to trickle down the sides of his face behind the deer skull mask.

He clapped his hands together loudly, before spreading his arms widely, speaking in a loud, commanding voice.

"My brothers and sisters! It fills my spirit with great joy, to see you all gathered here tonight for this very special event! For those of you who have not participated before, listen up!"

Hidan stayed very silent, and very still, but couldn't help notice a few of the other members, who were also new stiffen slightly. After a moments pause, Taromaru continued, never once loosing his enthusiasm.

"We have gathered at this same spot for centuries to celebrate our New Moon Ceremonies! This is a time for us all to come together as one, and show our gratitude to Jashin-sama!"

Hidan was somewhat surprised when the atmosphere seemed to shift as suddenly as it did. It felt the same as it did when he was first introduced to the group. At first, quiet and fickle, to suddenly, alive and completely fueled. The group cheered loudly, the sound of the whipping wind being easily drowned out in their cries. Upon the first bit of praise, Taromaru continued, starting to pace side to side in front of the group, seeming to almost shiver with the building excitement.

"We come together, and we _**praise**_ his name, for showing us the light! For making us stronger! For giving us the clay we needed, to mold ourselves, to shape our lives to what _**we**_want them to be! For shielding us from society's binding, narrow minded teachings! To help us break away from the crippling laws of man! For us to live the way we were intended to live! Have scientists not deemed us mammals? So tonight! Let us embrace our true calling! Let us live like the animals we truly are inside! Let us unleash the chaos chained inside! Let it out! Become one with the animal inside of you! The hungry, bloodthirsty beast that waits within the darkest corners of your minds! Reveal it!"

At each phrase, the crowd cheered louder, and louder for more. Arms flew into the air in applause, heads craned upward, crying out to the skies. Hidan couldn't even help the wicked grin that spread across his face. His heartbeat pounded inside of his chest, threatening to burst out of his body altogether. He laughed along with the group, soon, tossing his head back in a shrill cackle, his eyes going wild when Taromaru preformed the proper hand seals, and torched the wood and animals with a fire technique. The smell of burning animals flesh filled Hidan's nose, the smoke stinging his eyes and making them water, but now was a time he didn't mind. The flames rose high into the air, as the animals cried out in agony, the birds dropping instantly. The goat and dog struggled with all of their might to escape their flaming prison, but to not avail. Soon however the goat dropped into the flames, no longer moving, the fur stripped away to near nothing as the flesh began to blacken and turn crispy. The dog looked ready to drop, but to Hidan's surprise, Taromaru reached his bare hands into the flames, and drug it out by the collar, even as the nylon snapped from how much of it had been burnt away.

As soon as he did this, Hidan felt his body being shoved forward as the crowd rushed towards the fire, still cheering and crying out to the skies. Hands flew to the dying dog, and once more Hidan was surprised as the group began taking huge bites from the animal, even though the fur was on fire and the animal was not yet dead. He felt a hand shove him forward roughly, and turned to see Junpei moving behind him, encouraging him to jump into the fray.

He did nothing less. As if something else had taken over, he found himself with a burning set of hands, tongue, and cheeks as he bite into the flesh of the canine, watching as another part of the group took out the goat and what was left of the birds. Blood was shared among them, jaws were snapping like a pack of wolves, and the sound of crunching bones echoed through the valley. The carnage lasted for only Gods knew how long before soon nothing was left but a dull flame, animals bones with bits of flesh still clinging to them, and panting members. Each of them were scorched in some way, but nobody minded.

Taromaru soon stepped back up to the front, also panting. His hair was messed, blood stained his mouth, robes, and hands, which were also somewhat charred in black, and his sleeves were still smoldering. However he looked quite pleased, almost as if he were at peace. Raising his hands into the air once more, he waited until each head turned to look at him before speaking again, his voice somewhat shaky and strained. "Brothers, sisters."

Lowering his hands back down to his sides, Taromaru took a single step forward and, spoke more quietly, causing the crowd to have to lean in to hear his voice over the wind.

"Look at us. We, who worship a God of chaos, are more at peace with ourselves, than over eighty percent of the population who have sought and found redemption. We, together, will survive as an unstoppable unit, because of our God. We, will remain aware, and prepared for whatever this earth has to throw at us, because of our so called, 'savage' Deity. Let me ask you this...think of this as you leave here tonight, and answer for yourselves...is it really so savage? Is it more savage than the corrupt bureaucrats who rule over our nations? Is it more savage than what shinobi do to each other daily as it is? When a mission is on the line, and you are forced to kill one another. When an elected official has to cover up his backside, which could mean the slaughter of countless others to ensure this. Why is it so taboo, to simply have the very same tactics as our civilized, modern day society, out on display? At least people know what to expect from us, and can trust us to never change our ways or stab them in the back...no. We'll just aim for the front."

A wide grin spread across his face as the group shared a quiet chuckle at the small crack of humor. Hidan didn't necessarily join in the laughter, though it was a decent shot at keeping the mood light. He was simply too captivated by what Taromaru was saying.

"Consider this, and I'll let you decide for yourselves. Our faith aside, what really separates our ways from theirs?"


	12. Walk

**Hey you guys! Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this next chapter, but it was stumping me on just how I wanted to go about it. Thank you a million times over to those who reviewed last chapter and I hope you continue to enjoy the story! (hint hint wink wink, new reviewers are always welcomed to review tooo~ _ I can't know if you like it or not unless you reviewwwww~ _) **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"...okay, okay. So I'm flat on my face now, with a nice nose full of sand, the guys still pulling ahead of me, everyone else is way the fuck over behind me somewhere. I'm watching, and all I can think is 'please let it work, please let it work.' So..."

Hidan finally glanced up from his reading to look at Shou, who had been in the middle of describing the events of his last mission. Hidan had really only been listening on and off, trying to study, along with being mildly interested in how Shou's dumb luck had actually saved the mission.

In the room along with them were Yoko, and Gonzo. They, along with Shou, had become Hidan's closest friends. Each were quite accomplished with what they studied, and were very well known throughout the cult. Not to mention they were strong, solid shinobi, making the four of them together nearly unstoppable.

"...nearly lost my head trying to move, but I was able to roll and get back to my feet. Of course, sailing way off past me were those three giant ass red blades, Taromaru-sama pulling himself forward as fast as the coil can retract, but he's still a few yards behind me. The guy ahead is still taking off like mad, so my brain seemed to just go to my hands. I grabbed the coil, step on one of the rocks that were laying around, and sure enough there I go, sand skiing like a fucking boss coming up right on his ass. So I let go right as I come up onto the blades, step up and jump as far as I can, I throw the pair of shurakin I'd tied together. They go flying, catch and wrap around his ankles, he goes tumbling into the sand, his chakra at this point is just drained. So I land right behind him and BAM, over! Taromaru-sama was laughing, everyone was clapping, it couldn't have gone more beautifully if I tried." His head bobbed proudly, his arms crossing over his chest.

Yoko chuckled quietly, as Gonzo simply snorted. Gonzo was probably the tallest, and broadest Jashinists they knew, but despite his appearance, the guy was about as sharp as a kunai knife. He seemed unimpressed due to the fact it was dumb luck rather than skill. Hidan could respect that out of a person, but sometimes it got on his nerves. He himself being a victim of dumb luck...many times.

He closed the book finally, smirking over to Shou. "So admit it, how pissed was Taromaru-sama when you got the guy before him?" Taromaru was a good leader in a sense that he still took it upon himself to join in and lead missions. Trouble being, in Hidan's few encounters with working along side the man, he could get pretty competitive. It was about who could get the kill first after so long of hunting.

Shou seemed to think on this, his chin tilting up in thought before he could finally answer. "Oh...mildly it looked like. I think making him laugh kind of lightened him up. Heh, he got annoyed though when I started passing him up."

Gonzo pipped up at this point. "Seems like the guy's getting slower..." However a strike in the arm from Yoko and a glare from Hidan made him bite his tongue.

"So the guy's not an endurance champion, cut him some slack," Hidan quipped. However he wasn't quite finished yet. Smirking once again, his eyes seemed to flash the briefest warning signal for his next comment. "I've never exactly seen you anywhere in the front lines when we go out...aren't you generally tailing along in the back?"

Gonzo grunted irritably, turning his head away as Shou giggled to himself. "Eh don't worry about it lunkhead, nobodies perfect."

The larger man went to rebuttal, but a knock at the door silenced him. All four heads turned to look as Hidan called the okay for entry. Appearing into view behind the door, was Junpei.

"Hidan-san...I wanted to inform you that we will in fact be leaving about an hour earlier than originally planned. So be sure to be ready."

Hidan blinked a moment, but nodded his head. "Alright Junpei-nii, I'm ready whenever you are."

The door was pulled back closed as the older monk shuffled away, leaving the three younger priests to look towards Hidan in question, of course Shou asking first. "What does he mean? Where are you guys going?"

Hidan chuckled excitably. He had been waiting to be able to tell the others his good news, and now was the perfect time. "Oh nowhere special, except maybe up to the mountain graveyard shrine for my walk!"

Mouths dropped open, and Yoko covered her mouth with both hands, laughing gleefully, Shou pouncing on Hidan's side, capturing him in a fierce hug. "Oh man you're kidding me!? I can't believe it already!? You've only been here two and a half years man that's so not fair! Way to go!"

Hidan laughed, dropping the book on one side of the bed, gripping Shou's forearms so to keep a bit of pressure off of his neck. Shou had a way of accidentally-on-purpose chocking people whenever he was hugging them in extreme joy. Then again, this was a joyous time.

Whenever a new member has been what was labeled 'well seasoned' in the ways of Jashin, they are to be taken by their mentors up to the mountains graveyard. Upon arrival, they were to be left on their own, with the expectations of finding the original shrine. Upon finding it, they were to remain on the grounds for one full winter, surviving on nothing but the land until spring. Being surrounded by the aura of Jashin, surrounded by nobody else, forced to rely only on yourself, this was said to help strengthen the bond between God and servant. A time to take for the deepest reflections without interference. A way to tell if you truly had what it would take to become a strong servant for Jashin. Those who did, would come back with renewed faith. Those that did not, would die.

Hidan finally managed to pry Shou off of him, watching as Yoko and Gonzo exchanged grins, obviously happy for their newest edition. Gonzo finally spoke up and glanced over to Shou. "Hey this means we get to go a full winter without seeing his bare ass naked all the time."

Hidan's face fell at the comment. Of course before he could jump in his own defense, Shou was laughing hysterically, and Yoko pipped in. "Or walk in on him masturbating."

More laughter filled the room, as Hidan stammered with his hands out, trying furiously to get his vocals to function on his behalf. Of course, in jumped Shou for another stab. "Oh, oh, or getting pantsed whenever we turn the corners."

At this Hidan couldn't help but laugh along finally. "Hey! You all know it's funny when it happens to somebody else...and Gonzo, suck my balls, you know you love my ass! And Yoko I know I've caught you watching me yank it, don't act like you haven't." The laughter resumed as the vulgarity continued flooding from the silver haired boy's mouth. Then again, being fifteen now, this was almost able to be considered normal. A thought seemed to enter his mind, a wicked grin spreading over his face. Flashing his eyes to Yoko, he licked his lips slowly, making sure she noticed. Only when her brow raised, and a coy smile touched her lips, did he continue.

"You know, if you ever wanted to just, join in, you'd be more than welcome..."

Normally he was used to being brushed off for his comments, but Yoko seemed to be somewhat responsive. Sarcastically of course. "Oh? I'll be sure to keep that in mind for the next time Hidan-san." She placed her arms in front of her chest, making sure to framed her breasts with the inside of her elbows, squeezing them together to lift her cleavage exaggeratively. This earned another group laugh, but of course Gonzo was staring the longest of everybody there. He was known for being the most sexually active in their little circle as it where...especially with Yoko. Hidan smirked as well, but couldn't really hide the fact that the rather un-lady-like gesture was a turn on.

Hidan always enjoyed a woman when they possessed two qualities. They could admit they liked having sex, and weren't assholes. Too often it seemed that many women felt the need to pretend as though they disliked having sex in order to keep from being labeled 'slut.' Those few, also seemed to think that men were pigs for taking an extra moment to stare at their chests. To Hidan, taking an extra moment to appreciate a woman's body, was a complement. He didn't understand why it was taken as such an insult by some. Hell, if some woman were to let her eyes drift from his face to stare at his package, he'd be strutting around like a fucking peacock for the rest of the day!

On that second note...asshole kunoichi. The worst kind of kunoichi. The ones that forgot that they in fact were still girls, and tried to pretend they had dicks in order to 'prove themselves' to male shinobi. Hidan hated that in a woman. Any woman that acted like more of a man than himself was annoying, but thankfully it didn't seem like he was alone in that preference.

Yoko seemed to take notice that her gesture was appreciated by the silver haired boy, her brows lifting, the smile growing on her face. Gonzo snickered slightly as Shou simply rolled his eyes. Leave it to Hidan to not even bother trying to hide _that. _

Tilting her head far to one side, Yoko finally attempted to get his attention again. "Happy to see me Hidan-san?"

Hidan blinked slightly, but didn't bother hiding the grin on his face. In fact, he nodded proudly, leaning back and shifting his leg a in order for her to have a better view. "Why yes I am thanks very much. You know what would make me even happier to see you?"

Shou whistled lowly, suddenly feeling like he didn't want to linger in the room any longer. Things were about to get very involved. Naturally, he slide from the back of the seat he was on, moving quietly over to Gonzo. "So...shall we bail?"

The larger man smirked slightly and shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm pretty comfortable right here...you should stay for the show. It'll be good I bet."

Shou rolled his eyes deeply. Of course, he shouldn't expect anything less out of Gonzo. He'd look for any reason to get off about as often as Hidan did. Shou however, was a bit more private about his dirty laundry. Promptly excusing himself from the room, Gonzo moved about, killing a few candles that were lit in order to dim the room somewhat.

He hadn't quite heard Yoko's response to Hidan's comment, but what he did know, was that now, she was moving over to be beside of Hidan on his bed. Smirking widely, Gonzo quite happily invited himself to sit behind Yoko.

Hidan glanced over to his larger friend, but didn't seem to mind him being in the room. Hell, the more the merrier right? With that mutual agreement being set, Hidan took Yoko's face in his hand, using his free hand to support his upper body. Giving a gentle tug, he pulled her face closer to his own, capturing her lips with his.

Yoko's eyes seemed to drift closed, a soft sigh being released as her stomach began to grow warm. Behind her, she could feel Gonzo's hands sliding from her hips, to her chest, working to remove the robes from her body. Of course, they slid off rather easily, being a loose fit as it were.

Breaking the kiss, Hidan moaned in appreciation, his tongue flicking out to lick his lips, a wide smirk growing on his face yet again. However it vanished when he tilted Yoko's head up to the ceiling, his teeth finding their way to the front of her throat in firm nibbles.

A gasp was her reaction to both this, and Gonzo's large hands cupping her breasts. It was only when he pressed his chest against her back, did she notice that his robes had been removed already. It didn't take Hidan very long to follow suit, leaving the three young priests completely exposed, and vulnerable to one another.

Lifting his head up from her throat, Hidan finally pressed his hands on Yoko's shoulders, her eyes, opening to meet his own, trying to read just what it was he was going to do. Of course when she felt the gentle shove, she began to move backwards against Gonoz, who seemed to already understand what it was Hidan was doing.

Laying back onto the bed, Gonzo pulled Yoko into his lap, allowing her to lay backwards against his chest like a human mattress, Hidan crawling on top of her, pressing his hardening flesh between her thighs. His hands ran from her chest to her sides, his fingertips curling and digging into the tender flesh, earning throaty moans. It was only when he felt a bit of dampness ooze against his cock did he flash an arrogant smirk to her. She wanted him. Her body was responding and she wasn't holding back.

Of course, how could he keep a lady waiting at this point? Running his tongue from her thigh, to her stomach, he finally followed up by pressing the first few inches inside of her body. Usually he wasn't a guy for teasing, hating it himself, but this was flattering. Watching her body squirm beneath him, her legs clenching and unclenching, her mouth falling open shamelessly.

"Oh...oh...yea...more...please, more..."

Like music to his ears. A deep moan was his reaction, along with a firm rock of his hips, burying himself deeper inside of her. Her hands flew up from the sheets to his shoulders, her head turning to one side.

Gonzo seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Teeth bared, jaw clenched, his hands were gripping her breasts firmly, his member finally moving to enter her ass, earning him a loud cry of pain, but her body didn't resist. She bucked her hips upward to meet Hidan's steady thrusts, Gonzo moving his hips to keep up with the rhythm that was being set.

Words weren't needed, the moans, the growls, the cries filling the room was more than enough. They became lost within one another, their bodies moving in nearly perfect sync, each patch of skin shimmering with sweat, their breaths becoming heavy and labored. Hidan's back burned like wild fire from where Yoko's nails mercilessly ripped the flesh with each drive she received from the men.

The potent smell of sex filled the room with each passing minute, their bodies shaking and begging for release. Their minds seemed to focus on nothing else but hurdling towards the blissful end. Hidan's movements gradually were becoming faster and faster, his hips moving almost double the pacing of Gonzo's. Yoko's cries became, what might as well have been screams. If it hadn't felt as good as it was, she would have demanded for them to stop. Her hips were catching, and aching, her back felt tight and compressed, her breath becoming more and more difficult to control, tears streaming down her face.

Hidan could feel his groin becoming warmer and warmer, his climax nearly at it's peak. He just had to move harder, a little faster, but he wanted to try to hold out for Yoko, who he knew was just as close as he was. Her tight, leaking walls were squeezing his cock like a python, quivering, begging for the finale. Hidan knew he would have to start multitasking less he finish without her.

Keeping one hand firmly grasping her hip, he reached down with his left, his fingertips pressing against the soft fleshy lips between her thighs, rubbing madly in tight, circular motions. A cry of ecstasy filled the room, her upper body trying to sit up, only to be stopped by Gonzo's forearm wrapping around her throat, keeping her pinned against his chest as he released a large, thick stream of semen inside of her, between her cheeks. Hidan came, immediately after, his abs clenching, his teeth biting together as the milky liquid filled the pulsating walls around his member.

For the next few moment, each one panted heavily, writhing just enough to ride it out. Yoko's silent tears fell from her face onto Gonzo's chest, Hidan hovering above her, his hair becoming disheveled from it's slicked back style, dangling just over her chest, tickling the skin mildly. Finally, both men removed themselves from her body, Hidan moving to her side, wrapping his arms around her. Despite everyone else's methods after sex, Hidan was a cuddler. He didn't care, he enjoyed it. After sex, he just wanted to hold someone. Where was the shame in that? Yoko seemed to respond quite well to this, rolling over onto her side and wrapping her arms around his neck.

It was only then, Hidan noticed the tears, blinking in confusion. "You...alright?"

He was somewhat afraid to ask, because he didn't want Gonzo to bail on him if Yoko became a sobbing mess, but to his surprise, she laughed. Nodding her head, she whipped her eyes with the side of her thumb, seeming embarrassed to have been asked. "Sorry. Heh, I'm sorry, I'm fine...it, just felt so, good."

That brought a proud smile to his lips, a soft chuckle escaping his mouth, despite himself. Resting his chin atop of her head he watched as Gonzo redressed himself, smiling to himself as well before finally standing and moving to leave the room.

To the groups surprise, as he opened the door, there stood Junpei with his hand balled in a fist, obviously having been about to knock. Gonzo yelped in surprise, making both Yoko and Hidan jump out of their skin.

"Goddamnit Gonzo the fuck!?" Hidan scolded. There they were all nice and relaxed, and the bastard had to go acting like he had seen an oni or something.

Junpei of course bore an unamused expression, but it didn't seem to be directed from the fact that he had walked in on an after orgy. "Hidan-san," he started. Of course Yoko detached herself from Hidan as he sat up curiously. It couldn't have been time to go yet...right?

"Um, yes?"

Junpei sighed heavily, his head shaking. "When I said, an hour early...did you even bother to look at the time?"

Hidan blinked dumbly, but shook his head slowly. "No...I...oh shit is it time!? I swear I thought I had longer! Fuck! I'm ready, I'm ready!" He jumped from the bed, clearing the other side of the room and grabbing his bags. "Look see!?" He held them up over his head, as if to prove that he had in fact been prepared this time.

Gonzo and Yoko shared a laugh as Junpei smirked, his eyes falling below Hidan's hips. "Okay...now you might want to put something on...winter remember? Unless, you think you can survive without robes."

Blinking once more, Hidan glanced down, realizing as if he had forgotten, he was still naked...quite naked. Dropping the bags, on landing on his foot, he cursed loudly, moving to fumbling back in the robes. Of course the group took a moment of appreciation to laugh at him, his hand flying up for a rude middle fingered gesture. "Oh kiss my ass you guys!"

Gonzo of course was the first to bait hi, moving to leave the room around Junpei. "Smooth Hidan-kun, you're so fucking graceful!"

He had to duck, Junpei moving to one side, as a large book came sailing through the air, towards Gonzo's head.

"Oi!" Hidan screamed again. "I said kiss my ass, you shitfaced, thunder douche!"

Yoko, having wrapped the blanket around herself, doubled over to laugh as the book crashed into the door, bouncing a bit as it landed on the floor. Of course Junpei sighing irritably. "Come on now, stop wasting time and let's move on. I'm not getting any younger here."

**Yaaaay lemons! I haven't written a good lemon in a long while so forgive me if it's...meh. Please let me know what you think you guys, your reviews mean everything to me! **


	13. Lost

The journey to the mountains graveyard was a long one. One of the longest journey's Hidan had been on in a while. It was about the same as any other trip however. He would talk, despite if Junpei was listening or not, if he hit an interesting topic, Junpei would respond. When he grew bored, he would fall silent again, letting Hidan run his jaws to his hearts content. He had grown used to the constant chatter, and honestly didn't mind it so much like the others seemed to.

Junpei and Hidan's relationship over the years, had become an interesting one that many spoke of through gossip. It was unusual for Junpei to volunteer to spend so much time on one student, mentor or no, and he didn't seem to mind being around Hidan for long periods at a time. He even seemed somewhat fond of the boy. He even laughed more around him, which said a lot for Junpei considering his usually serious nature.

Hidan continued his chit chatting, mostly talking to himself at this point, no longer really paying attention to where they were going. They had walked for a long time, having to sleep outside in caves for the most part since any inns along the way were difficult to come by. He was tired, and anxious to get to their destination. Of course, right as he began to pay attention to where he was going again, he ran right into Junpei's back, causing him to stumble backwards and nearly fall over.

Junpei wheeled around at this point, and took the front of Hidan's robes, striking the side of his head with his palm. "Watch what you're doing would you?! Honestly, it isn't enough you talk my ear off, now you want to run me over? Cut an old man a break would you?"

Hidan offered an apologetic smile, rubbing the side of his head when he was released. "Heh, heh, sorry bout that, I didn't even see you st-" He was halted in his apology by a wave of Junpei's hand.

"Oh never mind. Now come over here and pay attention." He moved over to the side as Hidan took a look at what he was showing him. His eyes widened and his lips parted in awe. This was it. The mountains graveyard. Tall, thick, hook shaped trees were stretched out as far as the eye could see. The place was like a barren wasteland. Other trees were almost skeletal shaped as they bore no leaves for the winter, the bushes were bare, the ground was hard, and the place was silent. It seemed the not even birds wanted to occupy the branches.

Junpei chuckled slightly and sighed. "It's much nicer to look at during the spring and summer, I assure you...now Hidan-san, listen to me."

Hidan turned to face Junpei, watching as the older man took a seat on one of the rocks, Hidan moving to follow suit, crossing his legs in front of him to listen.

"Now, I want you to know this. Since I was appointed to you, I could see you held potential. Even though Taromaru-sama was uncertain, I could look at you, and I knew you would do well here. You have the same drive as when you started, and you never once have burned down. You are so eager to learn all the time, and you work very hard each day to better yourself. Just what you plan on doing with your knowledge...I have yet to understand, but I trust that surely you have an idea. If you come back from this, you will have made it to the next step in our ranks."

He paused in his speech, leaning forward towards Hidan with a soft smile. "And between you and me, that level will be, at this moment, above Shou, Gonzo, even Yoko...their mentors have not yet deemed them ready for their walks."

Hidan raised his brows at that, seeming at a loss for words for just a few moments. "So...what made you so sure I was ready? Just because I'm motivated?"

Junpei nodded his head, placing his hand on top of Hidan's shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "Exactly that. I know you'll be able to do this. So, don't make me look like an idiot by dying. Find the shrine, and take this time to find an even deeper bond with Jashin-sama. Allow him to fill your mind and body. You'll come back a changed man, I guarantee it."

Silence filled the air for the next few moments, neither Junpei or Hidan moved. They only sat there, watching each other, reviling in the nostalgia. Only when Junpei moved to stand up, did Hidan. Moving to brush himself off, Junpei spoke up once more. "Hidan-san, before you go, one more thing."

Lifting his head to meet him, Hidan cocked a questioning brow. "Heh, you seem to have a lot to say this time...what is it?"

Stepping forward, the hand replaced itself back onto Hidan's shoulder. "Just know this. You...you've really proven yourself to me. I have enjoyed working with you most of this time...and I can honestly say, you've even become like a son to me somehow. I'm very proud of you."

Hidan was caught off guard by that. Stern, hardassed, Junpei was saying things like this? To him? His eyes were wide, his lips moving to say anything, but what did you say to that one? He was utterly speechless. It took a few tries, but he managed to maintain the smile that finally appeared on his face, giving short, breathy laughs. "Really? I...heh, I don't know what to say. Shit, this is...fuck man, you had to go an say that didn't you?" He placed his hand to his forehead, brushing away the hair that had fallen around his face, before stepping forward, pulling Junpei into a tight hug.

He felt by how quickly Junpei tensed, he wasn't quite ready for that, but Hidan couldn't bring himself to care too badly. After a few seconds, he released him, stepping back to give him his space, smiling quite happily. Junpei cleared his throat uncomfortably, but couldn't say that it was entirely unwelcomed. Smirking back to Hidan, he finally began turning away. "Go, Hidan-san. When you return, we will celebrate your accomplishments."

Barking out a half laugh, Hidan nodded happily, before turning away, and bounding off into the mountains to find the shrine. He was excited. This was it. Now he could find this shrine, set up camp for the winter, and work in solitude to become closer to Jashin-sama.

He could notice as he delved deeper and deeper into the mountains, there was a sense of what could have been labeled, borderline, foreboding. Many of the animals were not present, though an occasional rodent would scurry past, a few cries of a hawk or eagle, Hidan never really could tell the difference in screeches, since it didn't really matter to him.

Time was in fact getting away from him however. He notice that the sun was finally beginning to set, the crisp air was sending chills along his skin, but thanks to being from the mountains of Yugakure, he had a bit of an advantage as far as atmosphere was concerned. Hell, it was easier to breath here than it was in wind country that was for certain. He could see now, how this sort of drastic change could throw some of the Jashinists off, causing their own demise when forced to live in the mountains for a winter without proper shelter.

Still, used to it or not, he knew he would eventually need to stop to rest. Flakes of snow were finally starting to fall from the skies, sticking to the grassy floor of the forests. He supposed now would be better than never. He had brought water with him, so he could treat himself to that after he set up a camp.

Making several trips back and forth, Hidan managed to find a few dry stick to put together around the little makeshift tent. Of course not being fire release he had been forced to cheat and use a lighter he had borrowed from someone at the cult. Surely they wouldn't miss it, after all, there were plenty that had been used to lighting the candles.

It only took one strike to ignite the flame, and eventually the tiny twigs and clumps of loose bark were engulfed with small flames, that gradually grew larger. Pocketing the lighter, Hidan added a few larger sticks, until the flame was a decent size. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a large plastic bag, and began filling it with the rest of the wood to keep it dry from the falling snow. Not to mention, it would be handy to take with him for the next camp he would set up the following night.

He took advantage of the fire, using it to heat his light dinner for the night, and of course to keep his body warm while he slept peacefully. In his sleep, he was only vaguely aware of the bristling winds, and the snow occasionally blowing into the shelters entrance's, tapping his face. Of course eventually, he simply pulled the blanket around his face, tucking his chin to his chest, and curling up more tightly to keep warm.

He awoke the following morning hearing a soft thud coming from one of the burnt sticks falling into the coals. His brows furrowed tightly as his eyes peeled open, his vision becoming temporarily assaulted by the thick blanket of white that stretched out before him. He sat up quickly, unbelieving that the ground had been covered so quickly...or at least, it seemed quickly.

Exiting the tiny shelter, he pulled it apart, replacing it in one of the bags, of course having to dig out the plastic bag with the dried wood inside; which thankfully was still tightly sealed. Once he had everything ready, he turned away, and started back off on his search. He had been given no clues as to where the shrine was, but he was confident that once he saw it he would recognize it a once. Trouble would be...just where would it be placed? He could be it would be in the middle of the forest, perhaps just beyond that, but exactly where was lost to him.

About six days passed by, each as tedious and exhausting as the last. He still hadn't found the shrine, but he was hanging onto a thread of hope that made him believe he was getting closer. If he just kept going eventually he would find it. His legs were wet and shaking from hiking around in the thick snow all this time, and now he was out of water he had brought with him. So of course, he would need to find water as soon as he possibly could. Then again, it was a mountain, if you listened, and smelled, you could find water. At least Hidan figured it worked that way since it had always been so with him.

However another sight caught his eye. Movement in the snow ahead. It was a rabbit! His stomach began to tighten when he realized that he would have to start finding more food soon as well. The rice balls he had packed were gone, and of course he had finished off the jerky. If he could catch the tiny rodent, and cooked the meat, he could make it last for perhaps two and a half days if he were stingy.

His mouth watered when his hand slid into his robes for the kunai knife he kept beside of his retractable staff. He stayed completely still, making sure to not even breath loudly, seeing that the rabbit hadn't yet even noticed his presence. It wasn't very far away from him either, one quick movement, and he would have it, but he knew he couldn't waste a ton of energy on chasing it if he missed. His fingers began to sweat slightly with anticipation, making it slightly harder to keep a grip on the kunai. One throw, one shot to the neck would be enough.

Taking in a breath, he pulled in his arm to throw the blade, but to his horror, the rabbit squealed before he could even release his knife, it's body being lifted into the air and carried away by a hawk. He stammered for a moment, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Wha-? No! Hey! Bring that back you stupid bird! HEY!" His voice echoed through the air of the mountains, the anger being carried off for miles.

In his frustration he turned and kicked the trunk of an innocent tree, jamming the kunai knife deeply within the bark shouting a stream of curses. "Goddamnitfuckshitpissbitchpussymuffballsfuck! Cockmonger! Really!? Fucking reeally!? Why!? Why me!? Argh where the fuck is this stupid shrine anyway!? Fucking hell Jashin-sama I hope your entertained! Cause I can't fucking find it! It's a needle in a haystack! It's not fair! Why couldn't they have just told me where it was so I could stop wasting time trying to find it!? A hint!? Something! This place is fucking huge and they send me on a wild goose chase! Who can find this thing without so much as a hint huh!? Nobody! If they say they can they're fucking liars!" Seething through his teeth after the tantrum, he let his body fall backwards into the snow dramatically.

"I hate everything. This is so not cool..." Letting his eyes fall closed, he took in a deep breath and sighed. This was so frustrating. Not only did he have to waste half of his winter finding the stupid place, but there went all the rest of the time he could have devoted to Jashin-sama.

"No." He sat up, snow falling off of his shoulders and upper back. He pondered on this for a moment. He would still look for the shrine...but it wouldn't consume his time like this. No. He was going to try a different approach this time. Technically this wasn't cheating...he hoped. After all he would still be doing as instructed, just in the wrong order.

Sighing heavily, he began standing up once more, pulling the kunai knife out of the poor tree trunk, and putting it away. "You know what...now is as good a time as any. Right? Fuck I gotta stop talking out loud." But it was the only source of audio entertainment he had...this was sad.

Clearing away most of the snow with his foot,at least until he had a small circle of cleared ground, he took a seat more calmly, folding his legs underneath himself. Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, he let his eyes fall closed, his hands naturally resting on his knees. This was better. A nice round of mediation did a body, and a soul good.

He sat there silently, occasionally offering small prayers to his God, but for the most part, all of his main focus was on trying to connect with h=Him. He focused on nothing but Him, His teachings, His word. This was a good time to allow his body to absorb the aura around him. It was sad to admit now, but even after being there for six days, but it was the first time he thought he could feel something. It was new...well perhaps not new, but strangely familiar. It felt like what Taromaru-sama described to him as being the spirit of Jashin-sama when he was first learning to meditate. It was almost...hot. His focus became so deeply involved that literally nothing else existed around him. His anger was present, only controlled. Hidan had always thought perhaps that was what he was feeling back in wind country.

This...what he was feeling now, was like that. Except, there was more to it. Hidan could feel the heat again. It filled his chest, but it was a pleasant sort of aggravation. The anger he felt through out his general day to day basis was also present...but it was more dull. He felt so suddenly calm. On top of it all. He could almost say...it felt like there was someone else there. Only, they weren't. He knew he was alone, he knew nobody else could possibly be out there. However something was. He couldn't quite tell what, he couldn't describe the feeling. He began trying to focus on that. Whatever it was, it was growing. As strange as it were...it was growing all around him. It felt very strong. It was almost overbearing. What was this around him? He tried to concentrate as hard as he could, desperate to find out just what it was.

His pulse began to quick, his breathing becoming deeper. Adrenaline welled up inside of his body as he focused with everything he had, trying to discover what it was around him. He almost felt the need to take flight, but his stubbornness wouldn't allow him to break concentration. He wasn't afraid, but whatever this was, it was becoming overwhelming. Was he having a self induced panic attack? Was he even awake? Was this really all him? Had he passed out from walking? He didn't remember ever standing up from meditation, but it felt like he was asleep now. He couldn't wake up.

Searching did no good since literally nothing was there except for this suffocating feeling all around him. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if he was dying. Had he froze to death? However, his ears rang with what sounded like a loud explosion, followed by what he swore sounded like thousands of footsteps pounding on the ground like a loud drum. Pain filled his head, causing a massive headache to spread through his skull, the ringing continuing to assault his ears none stop. He heard himself groaning, but he could barely recognize his own voice.

Soon, the pounding died down but was instantly replaced by the sound of loud hissing, soon after, a booming roar, with the snarling face of a tiger skull filling his vision. He managed to take a glance into the brightly glowing, yellow orbs of the angry feline, but as quickly as it had happened, he cried out, falling backwards back into the snow, his eyes snapping open.

Panting loudly, he looked around, but the sun was still blinking behind the dark snowy clouds, and he was still in front of the same tree. Sweat covered his face and neck, his hands trying to wipe it away frantically. What the hell had happened? His head still ached, even as he worked to slow his breathing down. He hadn't fallen asleep had it? Was it a nightmare? A revelation? He wished someone were around that he could ask but of course that would be easy. Sighing loudly, he stood up with his bags, deciding that he needed to find another place to rest soon...and water...water was becoming a must.

***Dramatic silent hill style music* Soooo we come to our second...third big event in the story! Yes, Jashin-sama has made a brief first appearance...type thing, and Hidan is lost XD Way to go Hidan. What I was going for was a balance for comedic relief sprinkled around, with as much seriousness as required for a priest finding his God, and spending an entire winter in worship, for the sake of growing in his faith...yay run-on sentences. I apologize for spelling/grammar errors, re occurring words planted too closely together (somehow has become a new issue for me O_o I don't even notice till it's pointed out) and any unclear descriptions ahead of time. That mediation part I worry about since it made sense in my head but I'm not sure I quite captured it on paper/screen. Please review you guys! It means so much to me when I get to see that people are enjoying this story and it is tons of motivation for me =) Thank you to my consistent reviewers as well! It means the world to me! (Already said that =/)**


	14. Hidan-Nii

Hidan didn't know how much more of this he could take. He felt like he was wasting the entire season just searching for this stupid shrine. He had stopped to meditate quite a few times, but with the eagerness to be where he was supposed to be, he couldn't focus enough to even hope to. Thankfully he had in fact come across a running steam, so at least his water issue was now solved. He couldn't even care how frozen his hands felt, even as he dipped them into the stream to cup handfuls of icy cold water, nor how his throat burned from being so dry as he swallowed. It just felt so good to finally have his mouth wet, and his thirst quenched.

He had unconsciously decided to follow the stream for the next two to three days, mostly just because he didn't want to move away from where he knew there was water. However, hearing it far before he saw it, he had discovered where the tiny stream ran into meeting the river. The water was swift and loud as it rushed to leap over the side of the cliff, down towards a small pool leading to another part of the mountains. Hidan stood over one of the edges carefully in order to look over and see the small streams, but soon found himself turning away to face his new problem. How the hell was he supposed to get across? There was no bridge, but there had to be a way.

He let his eyes lift to the canopy, thankful to see that there were enough thick branches to more than likely get him across if he was careful. Careful...not exactly Hidan's middle name. Moving over towards one of the larger trees, he placed his foot on the trunk, and used his chakra in order to bind him to the bark, moving up the side of the tree without much effort. One of the many perks to being a shinobi. Sure perhaps he could have used it in order to jump across a raging river, but that was a long way down, and he wasn't exactly a master of chakra control, so he couldn't promise himself that he would be able to shift the appropriate amount each and every time enough to make it. So this was really his best bet.

Now standing upon one of the branches, he marked each step with his eyes, of course taking in for account the ice that was in fact covering most of the branches, he took a large leap from where he was, to the branch across, almost placing him over the center of the river. Now he was really starting to hate winter. The wind whipping through the air was blowing his hair all around his face, and stinging his eyes, making his task only more risky. Brushing the silver locks behind his ears with his fingers, he squinted through the wind, and took another leap, landing about as gracefully as he could manage to the next branch, soon repeating the process until he had finally cleared the entire river. He had to say, he was quite proud of himself. He was quite the acrobat, but unfortunately not always the most graceful on his feet, so this was a tiny accomplishment for him. He hadn't slipped, fallen, gotten wet, and soon killed. Nope, nature not today!

Allowing a tiny grin to cross his face, he finally made his way back down, and back into the forest. He knew he was on the path, just given how the snow was finally starting to lay, but where was this stupid shrine!? This was so irritating? How did they expect him to find a needle in a haystack? Was it a large shrine? Easy to find, like a temple? Was it just a rock engraved somewhere? What did it even look like? He shook his head, unable to really even help the annoyance that was building up inside of him.

"Goddamnit where are you!?" he finally called to no one in particular. He listened as his voice echoed for what was probably miles across the valleys. The shout did little to sooth his anger, but at least he could let off some steam that way. Sometimes, yelling did a body good. However as he stepped forward, his eyes having not been looking directly ahead of where he was going, the snow suddenly began cave beneath his feet. He gasped in surprise and reached out to grab a hold of something, but only grabbed a fistful of snow, his now closed knuckles scrapping against the side of the rocks which he soon found himself facing and falling from. He had walked right off the side of a fucking cliff! How could he have not seen it!? He glanced down quickly, but his fall was abruptly stopped by something large and solid hitting his back and shoulders. He grunted heavily, but soon felt himself sliding again. Yelling out as his body was now once again air born, he landed once more on his stomach, this time on a large, flat piece of stone. He bite his teeth together as his head spun, pain shaking his entire body, which thankfully was clearing away. He stretched his limbs out, but it seemed as though he had been lucky and not broken anything.

Pushing himself up onto his feet carefully, he glanced upward and noticed that he had fallen quite a good distance, but only perhaps thirty feet. There was a large stone, curved pillar over his head, and he guessed it was that arch that had stopped his fall before he had landed on this structure. Looking down, over the edge of where he stood, his breath was stolen. This was it...it had to be. He couldn't see any signs right away, but below, there was the snow covered path, leading to stone stairways, and soon, built into the rocks of the cliff side, what he assumed was the shrine.

Newly found excitement fueled him now. He had done it! Accidentally of course, but nobody expect for him had to know right? Here it was. He leapt off of the edge of the structure, soon landing in front of the stairs below. Turning his body to look upon the doorways, his mind left no room for doubts. Engraved into each door, was in fact the symbol of Jashin. At least it was somewhere inside. His hands felt frozen, and his face was sore from the cold, not to mention his clothing by now was getting soaked.

Rushing to the doors, he pushed them open and stepped inside, closing the doors behind him and basking in the not so freezing temperatures. It was indeed dark inside, but there were lit torches along one side of the walls, revealing more stairs for him to descend. The fact that the torches had been lit sent off red flags in his mind at once. Someone else was there. Junpei hadn't warned him of that. Frowning slightly, he pulled out his retractable staff from his pouch, and tightened his grip on the bag across his back, carefully moving down the stairs.

They stretched on for far too long, but finally he came across a straight and narrow path ahead, another light flickering in his line of sight ahead. Narrowing his eyes, he moved carefully through the hallways. He could hear nothing but the soft crackle of the flames, and all he could see was stone all around him. However he finally reached the end of the hallway, which was now stretching out before him into one large room. The center of the room, had a set of three stairs, and torches set on either side of an alter of Jashin. This one seemed to be made out of what to Hidan looked like solid ebony. Golden bowls that were halfway full of some clear unknown liquid, with the petals of dead flowers, and what appeared to be precious gems were set all in front of the symbol. Offerings no doubt. Around the rest of the room, there were perhaps four different doors, and one hallways that passed behind the symbol.

Hidan blinked and moved to go around the alter, but something moving in the corner of his eyes stopped him. He hissed and aimed the staff towards the offender, but somehow discovered his eyes had missed this man completely. Standing from where he had been sitting in front of the alter, the man stared menacingly at Hidan. He was quite old, his eyes revealed he was blind, his fingernails were long and thick, slightly curved at the tips. He wore long, solid black robes, his face had numerous symbols; from what Hidan knew of all ancient lettering of the language of demons, carved in his skin, and his hands were horribly burned. In his hand was a large wooden staff with a rounded head, and long pointed thorns wrapped around the top and sides of the staff head.

Hidan didn't speak, really just not quite knowing what to say. Was this man also a priest of Jashin? Why hadn't anybody warned him that he would be here? Then again, Hidan hadn't been warned of really anything. He waited for a moment, but the man made no sounds, or movements. Narrowing his eyes, Hidan lowered the staff, but held it firmly in his grip. "You're a follower aren't you?"

The man's head turned slightly to the side, as if he hadn't heard Hidan, but just as Hidan went to repeat himself, the man's head bobbed slowly to affirm the question. Hidan watched him for another moment, wondering just why he didn't simply say yes or no, but somehow he felt like it would be rude to ask. "So am I...I'm here for my seasonal walk? Junpei sent me?" Had they warned this man Hidan would simply be barging into this sacred temple?

The man seemed to respond better to the statements. With his free hand, he curled his long bony fingers towards the hallway behind the alter, still remaining wordless. The point didn't last long however, for soon the man silently sat down in front of the alter once more, his eyes remaining fixed on the symbol, unblinking. It was slightly unnerving.

Sighing to himself, seeing that the man was more than likely going to be as busy as if Hidan weren't even there, he decided to go down the hallway before beginning anything else. Out before him was a set of three, long, wooden tables with large candles set on the centers. They were full of silver laced, crystal goblets, and silver platters full of food. Feeling his stomach start to twist, he would have called out a loud thank you to the man had he not been so busy with his meditations. Dropping his bags onto the ground, he rushed forward to one of the tables, helping himself to portion after portion of grilled salmon, bits of what tasted like bear roast, rice, and muscles with noodles. Of course, who could resist but to top it all off with the wine that was just sitting there for the taking? Pouring a less stingy amount for himself, he indulged himself in the taste before he finally found himself with an empty cup.

He sat back slightly, sighing out in relief. He hadn't even realized he had been so hungry. Smothering what would have been a loud belch in his sleeve, he stood up from the table before moving to grab his bag. He'd have to find a room if he was going to be staying here for the rest of the season, before he would have to go out, and rejoin the old man's company.

Thankfully finding the room proved to be much easier than finding the damned shrine itself. He had put everything way, and gotten himself washed up, before he moved out to where the alter was. He noted strangely, that the old man was missing, but Hidan guessed maybe he went to take a nap? Old men liked to nap, wasn't that right?

Moving up the stairs, he glanced into the offering bowels, but realized, he had nothing to give. He thought for a moment, wanting to give anything he possibly could, but nothing he had on him, was even worth trying. He sighed sadly, wishing that there was at least a mine he knew of where he could just dig up something pretty and give it up, but alas, there wasn't one in his knowledge.

He couldn't help the tiny, pitiful laugh that passed through his lips. He lowered his head in embarrassment, and shook it apologetically. "I feel so unprepared for this. How can Junpei-nii ever think that I was ready? Forgive me Jashin-sama. You must think the worst of me by now. Look at me." He pulled the rosary up,and off of his neck in order to grip tightly in his hands, the out loud prayer continuing. "What have I ever been? My entire village has all but crippled me when it comes to being a shinobi. I'm not strong, my skills are limited, I wasn't born of the faith, I could barely find my way to you." He paused for a moment, before smirking once more. "But I guess in the end...I'm here now. That's all that I suppose should matter. I'm doing my best for you, and...I do want to be closer to you. I want you to own everything there is to own of me. I want you to be proud of me. I'll even do better. Each day, I'll work to do better." The more he said, the more true it began to feel to him. Here he felt as though he could admit everything. He knew most of it didn't matter to his God of course. After all, everyone could admit to their faults, but the only ones who's words truly mattered, where the ones that followed up by their actions. That's just what Hidan intended to do. However this little one on one session, just made him feel closer to his God. That even though he undoubtedly couldn't care less how Hidan felt, his prayers would still be heard, and be listened to, and that was more than enough for Hidan. Junpei would more than likely bust him for wasting Jashin-sama's time with such petty prayers, but Hidan sought to communicate none the less for the sake of communication. He felt no shame with it. Junpei wasn't here, this was Hidan's time to spend with Jashin-sama in whatever way he wished. At least, that was what he had been told.

Soon, he found himself chatting away about as easily as if Jashin-sama were standing there in front of him, flesh and bone. Everything was a topic, his dreams to become one of the closest followers, and to become a better shinobi from his faith, but above all, his dreams to spread the word of his God...with the gift of eternal life. "I don't know how to do it. I know what I want. I want eternal life...so that I can forever spread the knowledge of your word to everybody. Whether they want to hear it or not." He knew how thick people could be, how stubborn they could be when they thought they didn't want something. Jashin-sama made Hidan happy. Gave him a purpose. Why shouldn't everyone else get the chance? Those that denied him, could die. It was blissfully simply.

He sighed slightly before his mouth finally seemed to stop on it's own, though his brain was working furiously on ways to gain eternal life. He knew he couldn't simply ask around This was his goal and he didn't want everybody else meddling in his affairs. No, _he_ would be the one to please Jashin-sama this way. Of course, Taromaru would be in for a pleasant surprise. He would walk forever by Taromaru's side, the son of Jashin-sama, and together they could cleanse the world of sinners, and rescue the lost. They had forever to fight. So it wouldn't be as if their dreams die with their bodies. No, now they had a way around that.

Now the question of how remained. The only books that Taromaru had that could possibly hold answers, were locked away out of reach. He could always simply break into the archives and sneak a few peaks couldn't he? It was for the sake of learning. So why would it be bad? It couldn't be. Especially if he was just careful and didn't get caught.

The weeks passed by slowly. The entire time Hidan had been there, the old man seemed to disappear and reappear out of thin air, there was always food, and Hidan spent most of his time by the alter, sometimes with the old man, as they both worked silently to reach some conclusion with Jashin-sama. Hidan only hoped that his God would be pleased with his efforts. Gaining his approval meant the world to him right now, but he knew it would be easy. Jashin-sama was choosey, vengeful, and half of the time indifferent. However to Hidan, it only meant any praise, would be worth savoring. Any tiny amount you could manage to squeeze out of him.

His quest however was abruptly ended when he felt a hard, yet, brittle hand slap down upon his head, sliding down to grip his shoulder. Hidan yelped out from the hit and tilted his head up and backwards to glare at the old man, who was staring directly ahead. It seemed he had been trying to reach Hidan's shoulder all along, but missed his mark by a bit, cracking him on the top of the head. "Hey! What gives!?" Out of the entire time Hidan had been there, the old man hadn't uttered a single word, or noise. It drove Hidan nuts, and he began to wonder if perhaps the old codger was a mute on top of being blind. He felt the fingers curl around Hidan's robes, as he weakly tugged on them, obviously wanting Hidan to follow.

Frowning, but deciding to do so, Hidan stood up, and walked with the old man before he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Releasing the hold on Hidan's robes, he pointed up the flight and simply stood there. Hidan of course by now was confused. Looking up at the stairs he climbed to the top to where the doors were. He squinted however at just how bright it was outside. He hadn't stepped outside the entire time he had arrived, which speaking of, just how long had he been there? Or was that the point the old man was trying to make? He pushed the doors open slowly, revealing the outside world. The trees were starting to bud in some areas, and the entire ground was covered in melting snow, but the sky was clear. Heh, so it looked like his time was up. As sad as it was, Hidan didn't feel ready to go home yet. He had been enjoying his time away. Turning to look back at the old man, Hidan went to call out but paused, he was gone again. Damnit, for an old guy, he could really hustle when he wanted. Sighing heavily, Hidan made his way to the bottom of the stairs again to collect his stuff. He did take a few moments to look around to bid the old man farewell, but to his amazement, there was just no sign of him.

"Fucking spooky..." It may have been uncalled for given the old man's appearance, but it was what it was. The man was almost phantom like, and had been the entire time Hidan had stayed there. Shaking his head he decided on second thoughts, being around his normal crowd of people would be a welcome.

It took quite a few days of traveling, but eventually Hidan found himself in the familiar setting of sandy nowhere, the seemingly unimportant chunk of rocks sitting around the surface, signaling his was home. He smiled to himself and began jogging to enter the cave, now excited to show he had returned home. He moved through the dark, rocky tunnels before finally making it to the black pool clearing, where a few of the members were standing among each other, Shou being one of them. At that, Hidan lifted his head arrogantly and smirked, holding his arms out in a dramatic greeting. "Oi bitches! Mah bitches! Ha, ha! Guess's who's back!?"

The small crowd turned their heads, but he received quite a few smiles. Shou stood up and laughed loudly, before jumping across the pool of water to greet his long gone friend, two or three of the members ran through the tunnels, obviously going to spread the word of his return as the rest approached. Shou jumped at Hidan's chest, throwing his arms around him in a tight hug, and moving to lift him up off of his feet before returning him to solid ground. "Hey welcome back! We thought maybe you'd be an icicle by now."

Hidan laughed light heartedly at the greeting as the rest of the members began to induce the game twenty questions his way. He answered each as best he could, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sudden bomb of noises after being in almost complete silence for so long. However to his rescue soon came Junpei and Taromaru, both looking more than pleased, Yoko, and Gonzo of course moving behind them, each waving their greetings to Hidan. Glancing at the other tunnels, the rest of the members became piling in. Apparently Hidan must have missed just what a big deal these walks were. All of the Jashinists were crowding around in the main room, just to see that he was there? He watched as the path parted for Taromaru, the chatter instantly dying down as his hand lifted. "Welcome back my brother. You have returned from your journey, and from where I stand, I dare say perhaps you have grown a little along the way. You no longer look like the whelp Junpei-san had dragged along behind him. Your eyes say that you have in fact been blessed with a deeper understanding. Of course, just how deep I cannot say, perhaps the...welcoming comity has thrown you off guard?" Hidan smiled lightly as the crowd chuckled quietly. Smirking from underneath the ever present deer skull, Taromaru continued.

"Well, come along to the great hall. We will feast, and celebrate in your honor. You have achieved large step in your faith my brother. And, as my right as High Priest, I here by strip you of your title as monk, and I hereby grant to you, the title of apostle. Congratulations." The pale hands spread out to gesture towards Hidan, who stood almost speechless, as whistles and applause began to roar from the crowd.

He hadn't really even felt himself moving from the sheer shock of it all before Yoko, and Gonzo's voices broke him from his trance. He shook his head and glanced around as soon the great hall was now full of each member, food and wine being passed all down the long rows of occupied talbes, and of course chatter blaring dully in the air. Shou soon poked Hidan's shoulder, smirking curiously. "So, Hidan-nii, what's got you so quiet? Normally it's all we can do to shut you up." Hidan smirked slightly, tossing an apple towards Shou's head, which of course was dodged. Hidan-nii...that just sounded so strange to him. He'd have to get used to that one.

Remembering the comment, but not really, he shrugged lightly, and starting into one of the plates of ribs, dully noting that Kenji's ribs somehow always tasted better. Kenji...it had been years now since Hidan had even really thought of, or been reminded of the bitter old man. He missed him terribly, and wondered just how he was doing. He knew he could never see him again, one because the old pig farmer would probably pull him apart limb from limb and feed him to the hogs, two, he wouldn't be able to stand having Kenji turn him away no matter how much he deserved it. Which he did deserve it, and he knew it. He came into Kenji's life, ignored his protests of becoming a shinobi, and more than likely ruined Kenji's entire life...what little life he had left. Everyone that used to buy and trade with him was dead. All he had was his lively hood now and the only choice he was left with was to wait until the village no doubtingly repopulated again. Why on earth would Kenji ever want to see Hidan again? He probably didn't even miss him. Might even be happy he was gone.

The it occurred to him seemingly out of the blue. Hidan had really looked up to Kenji as a father figure in his life...it was old news that Hidan had never known his parents, hell, nobody in Yugakure even knew where Hidan had come from. He seemed to have just appeared one day. Now, here he was looking at Junpei the same way. However this time, the feeling seemed to be mutual. Junpei had told Hidan before he left, Hidan had become like a son to him. Boy...it seemed that he was just blessed with all kinds of daddy complexes. He was pulled from his thoughts however when Shou waved his hand in front of the silver haired boys face in an attempt to win back his attention.

"Helloo? Earth to Hidan-nii? Anybody home? Hey man, I know you've been on this long, spiritual journey and all, but don't forget about us down here would ya? Hey! Are you even listening?"

Hidan did in fact snap back to reality before swatting Shou's hand away. "Oi! Shut up would you? I heard you damnit...what was the question?" Beside of him Yoko began to laugh, as Gonzo snorted and rolled his eyes deeply. "I think we lost him folks."

Hidan smiled before feigning offense, laughter soon bubbling up in his chest, mostly out of just being glad to be home and surrounded by people that he actually liked. Friends...yea, yea, you could call them that by now. "Hey, hey fuck you all! C'mon seriously, what was the fucking question, I forgot!"

Shou waved his hand dismissively, still unable to stop his laughter. "Don't...don't worry about it."

**Ah yes, yes, welcome home Hidan ^-^ Reveal in your joy because shit's gonna go sour here very, very soon _ Tune in next time for another chapter! Thank you all for reading! *cough, cough, review, cough* C'mon gaiiiis, nothing makes me wanna write more than a review every now and again 3~~~~ I'm not above crying for them...I'll do it...I'll fookin' do it! **


	15. Forgive Me Jashin-sama

**Hi there guys! I have a fair warning for you. This chapter will be probably the second most graphic and there will be a slight...possible OOCness on Hidan's simply because I am going on improve. Believe me I am doing my best but it's hard to capture something like this. Please enjoy and let me know your thoughts!**

A silent prayer had been issued beforehand, every eye closed, each head bowed respectfully. Let their kills be worthy, let their hearts open, and let their enemies taste the power of Jashin.

With their respects now paid, each blade of grass bent and parted as the group of Jashinist crawled through. Hidan was near the front with Shou, and Gonzo, who was positioned behind Taromaru. Junpei of course was near the rear with Yoko, calmly watching the group of shinobi moving along the great red scythe held firmly across his back by the smallest amount of chakra, glimmered with ill intent as a grin was spread firmly across his fine features. Turning his head to look back at his men, he chuckled softly. "They know we're here. Keep on your guard. Nobody gets out of there alive." Hidan narrowed his eyes, glancing down the small hill to try to see just who all was present in the group.

Eight shinobi, and a civilian on horseback, traveling in the middle of them. She had hired them for protection to help her cross the borders of grass country. Unfortunately for her, she was also the daughter of quite the impressive Daymio. Impressive enough for word to leak of their departure. Granted now, nobody was ignored or shunned by a Jashinist, more of a message could be sent, when the ones converted and saved were of importance.

The attack of course was Taromaru's idea, after Hidan had spoken previously to him about how to better spread the word of Jashin. It had been his new mission in life along with his, undercover task of finding immortality through Jashin...but for now that was his dirty little secret. Either way, Taromaru had been more than willing to go along with the idea, and had dug up this little mission for them, even electing to lead the way. What an honor it was for Hidan of course. This was only his third mission with Taromaru, and each time, they had only worked better together. Of course Hidan would, and could work well with any of the Jashinists, Taromaru and him had a specific method for their mutual partnership.

Hidan leaned closely towards Taromaru, keeping his voice low. "I'll distract the roan and have her thrown so she can't have the chance to run. Then I'll take care of her myself." He had already sighted her as his main target after their well run attack formation was completed.

Taromaru however seemed to have been confused by a detail. Turning his head towards Hidan, he questioned back softly. "What on earth is a roan?"

Hidan nearly slammed his face in the grass. Damnit Kenji's teachings of agriculture! 'The fucking colour of the horse,' of course was his thoughts, but if he spoke to Taromaru that way, he'd more likely have his tongue cut out. "The...the horse."

Shou snickered underneath his breath, of course receiving a kick to the shoulder by Hidan, who was shooting back one of his finest glares.

"Farm boy," Shou teased. It of course was cut off short as Taromaru began to push himself up by his hands, Junpei already crawling towards his position with Yoko.

"Remember," Taromaru stated. "Nobody gets out alive...stick to the plan, and pick your targets."

With no more needing to be said, he lead the assault with Hidan hot on his heels, the purple eyes dead set on the woman, who hadn't even seen them until it was too late. His robes bellowed backwards from the amount of force he had put into his sprint, only catching a glimpse of the giant scythe as it was sent after one of the shinobi, attempting to stop Hidan.

Not taking a chance, Hidan bounced off to one side; still keeping towards the woman, away from the shinobi, listening to the sickening slosh of metal piercing skin. Taromaru cackled loudly as the shinobi fell heavily upon the ground, but did not yet die. Taromaru then leapt over the fallen body, leaving Gonzo; who had been behind him after Hidan, to toss a kunai knife into the wounded shinobi's throat, dropping him for good.

However, the ambush was now spotted, so of course, the remaining shinobi prepared for battle. Hidan by then had reached the woman, who had been attempting to urge the horse forward to a gallop. Of course, expecting this, Hidan kicked off of the ground as strongly as he could possibly manage, driving the now sharpened end of the metal staff into the horses side, piercing through the thick hide, and bringing the large animal down with a shrill scream. The woman yelped out, falling over to the side of the dying animal. Scrambling to her feet, she attempted to flee, but being a civilian, she stood no chance of the speed of a shinobi. Within her third step, Hidan had already pulled the staff free of the animal, and was in the process of driving it through her back, passing through skin, muscle, and bone without much resistance from the sheer force, versus her softened body. It was the only downside of hunting civilians. They were so soft compared to a shinobi's body, it didn't take much to end their lives. However, now she remained in the care of Jashin. Her and the brave shinobi that died to protect her.

He couldn't stop now though. Seven other shinobi remained, all by this time injured and disarmed. The plan kicked into motion at once as the group turned tightly together, and began to flee for their lives. Their priority had been killed, so this to them seemed to be the only way to escape with their lives. Chunnin no doubt. It seemed they had already downed the only jonin present. No matter.

Taromaru stayed hot on their heels, Junpei and Yoko of course now out of sight, no doubt to set up the next ambush at the end of the trail. Hidan pulled in front of Gonzo, and Shou, who sprinted after the fleeing shinobi, tossing kunai and shuriken in order to further injure their already bleeding bodies. It of course was all half hearted, for they only needed to drive them towards Junpei and Yoko. This was one of the few times that they worked together as a team. However when they did, everything seemed to work flawlessly. They were perfectly synced, and they had all but won this battle.

At the end of the trail, where the trees parted way to reveal a large field, Yoko and Junpei had made it to the other end, with scrolls held tightly into their hands. Taromaru tossed the scythe towards the men mostly to ensure that they continued running forward and did not try to stop. The urge worked, as the only shinobi that did try to stop, was struck in the back by all three blades. He fell heavily forward, Taromaru and Hidan having to leap over the body in order to avoid tripping over him.

Hidan of course trusted Shou and Gonzo to finish him off; which they proceed to do with a few clean slices across the chest and stomach, as he followed after the now group of six shinobi. From the scrolls, Junpei had summoned a wall of lightening, effectively separating the shinobi from any chance of escape that they had. Yoko; who had just been in front of Junpei enough to be behind the wall of lightening with the shinobi, made the appropriate hand seals with her scroll, before slamming her hand down upon it, summoning a large ape that proceeded to jump upon a randomly selected shinobi from the group, latching it's jaws upon the poor man's face, chewing and clawing his skin madly with loudly, ear piercing shrieks that only apes seemed to be ale to produce.

Screaming and falling to the ground, with the animals still gnawing upon his face, the rest of the Jashinists rushed upon the remaining five, blow for blow being exchanged, as the last of them attempted to fight for their lives. However, it wasn't long before they were finally out matched, each shinobi dropping, leaving room for the Jashinists to team together and simultaneously attack whoever remain, until very soon, each man laid dead from being stabbed or bitten multiple times from weapons, or the jaws of the angry ape. By the time it was all finally over, each Jashinist was coated in their enemies blood, the ape licking his lips before siting down upon it's rear end beside of Yoko before she thanked and dismissed the creature in a soft puff of smoke.

For the longest moment, as prior to the fight, each and every eye was closed, and heads bowed. Each ounce of gratitude for such successful kills, each bit of hope for the souls guidance along the journey, was offered to Jashin. They could have been statues placed in a macabre circle for all that they moved. Not a breath seemed to be taken, not a muscle twitched. The world around them simply did not exist as each Jashinist offered their prayers for the lost, and now found. For the pain that they sacrificed at the hands of their saviors. For the understanding of the pain they suffered in order to reach the hands of their God. Every detail was taken into account, all of the pride, and credit, offered to Jashin.

Only until this was complete did their eyes finally snap open. The sun had set without them, but an ounce of daylight remained. Taromaru took in a deep breath of relief, his head tilting up at the sky. He seemed to be at his most peaceful, after carnage most successful. However, there was one last task to be seen.

"Hidan, come here," he ordered.

Hidan's brow furrowed, but he moved to stand in front of Taromaru curiously. "Yes?"

Taromaru then inclined his head towards Junpei. "I have one last mission for you and Junpei before you return home with us...we will remain here for now to complete our next mission, but I want to to accompany Junpei to his."

Hidan tilted his head slightly. This he had been unaware of. "What exactly is-" He was cut off as Junpei took his bicep in hand, starting to gently pull him along. "I'll explain it to you Hidan-kun, don't worry yourself."

Hidan smirked but stayed quiet as he began to follow along behind him, listening as he began the explanation. "Nearby, we are going to pay a visit to the groups drop off point. This was to be where she would have been taken for safety. They were to of course assume her death if she should be ten minutes late, because word had somehow leaked that we knew of their party. They will hunt us down, if we do not strike them first. And after I did took it upon myself to run recon, I discovered that their numbers are slightly greater than what I was told. Not by much, but enough to concern me enough to want you there with me."

Hidan frowned as he listened, one bit making his blood boil. "How did they know we were coming?" There was no way in hell that information could have gotten out unless.

His suspicion was confirmed of course, when Junpei sighed. "We have been betrayed Hidan-kun. Someone inside of our ranks has offered our enemy information that we would be coming and we did not mean for anybody to survive. However, if we can make it in time, then we can catch this little fort off guard, and finish them off. They will relax long enough for us to attack if they think it is the party arriving."

Hidan nodded his head, but waved a pale hand. "Well yea, that's a great plan and all, but Junpei-nii who's betrayed us? How did you find out?" That was driving Hidan up the wall. Who had the nerve to turn around, after everything they had been given from the one sensible group left on this earth, and stab them in the back like a coward?

Junpei sighed sadly, shaking his head. "Please Hidan-kun...it is already going to be taken care of. Taromaru ordered me not to tell you until you were with me...but the final reason I asked you to come along is because I didn't want you to over react due to the shock."

"Just tell me!" Hidan barked. He had listened to enough of Junpei beating around the bush. He wanted to know. ...The reason he wanted Hidan with him to protect him from the shock of it? Did that mean, the traitor had just been with them?

His face fell, and his mood did in fact shift as predicted when the next words left Junpei's mouth. "Shou-san. Taromaru-sama asked him to come along with us so that after the mission; he could lead him away and punish him for his sins. Gonoz-san, and Yoko-chan will have been asked to go home already. They do not know, and will be informed when Taromaru-sama returns. You and I are to ensure that this next group do not follow us there and endanger everybody else for Shou-san's betrayal."

Hidan felt his heart cramp, his anger becoming almost overwhelming. Why? Why had Shou done it!? He was Hidan's best friend since day one. They talked about everything, and were both so eager to climb the ranks! Shou had been jealous of Hidan's accomplishments and it had only motivated him to work harder. Why would he just throw it away? Or was that the point entirely? Had Shou just been so jealous, that he sought to just destroy the entire group? How could jealous, drive someone to do such a drastic thing?

"Junpei-nii, was that entire ambush nothing but a set up then? By Shou?"

Junpei nodded his head gravely. "Jealously is a poisonous thing Hidan-san, and this is a complicated set up at that. Shou-san really tired to cover his tracks here." Taking in a deep breath, he proceded to further explain.

"There was no daughter of a Daymio. She was just a daughter of a fisherman, on her way home to see her father. However she had been offered a lot of money. Money to pay her to hire shinobi to escort her across the borders, in order to draw us specifically out so that the shinobi could kill us. Having been informed of this, she agreed, but that last bit wasn't mentioned to the shinobi she had hired. They were under the impression that they were simply escorting her home. Shou-san had convinced her that the shinobi knew that they were also going to be attacking us once we were drawn out into the open. He wanted all of us dead. So he told Taromaru-sama that she was the daughter of a Daymio. After Taromaru-sama's conversation with you, he had decided she would be the best place to start. However, when he looked into her profile, for further information on her to Shou-san's ignorance, he had discovered Shou-san had deceived him. He went along with the mission anyway, in order to prove some point to Shou-san, and punish him. He didn't tell you, Gonzo-san, or Yoko-chan, and asked me not to say anything until I had you alone. He was afraid your emotions would prevent you all from succeeding in the original mission for want of having Shou-san dead. It happened to quickly, and neither of you were ready to adapt to such a thing so fast. Do you understand?" Never did Junpei want to deceive his fellow Jashinists, but their lust for vengeance could have resulted in the deaths with trying to fight seven chuunin, a jonin, and their friend.

Hidan still seemed furious, but accepted the rather confusing explanation. He trusted Junpei's word, and could tell in his eyes he too was grieving from the betrayal. Either way, now wasn't the time. They still had to finish the last few bits. "Yes...but it doesn't matter right now anyway. Taromaru-sama will make his sorry ass pay, and we still have a job to do. You don't have to try so hard to protect me Junpei-nii. I don't need it."

Junpei offered what looked to be a relieved smile, before turning his head towards the building. "Here we are then...there should be at least four inside waiting...ready?"

Hidan smirked wickedly as he held the staff tightly in his hands. "There is no ready, let's just do this."

Nodding his head Junpei went to step upon the tiny flight of stairs to the building, but when he did, all hell literally had broken loose. The door exploded, along with most of the front of the building, fire engulfing Junpei's robes, and knocking him at least ten yards away.

Hidan cried out in pain, as he felt a sharp strike to his head, causing his knees to buckle underneath him. His hand that had the staffed gripped, was kicked, forcing the weapon astray on the ground. Falling to the ground, Hidan tried to stand up, calling out to Junpei, but he was overwhelmed as a pair of shinobi grabbed his arms violently, pulling him to be back down on the ground, as a third stepped up, and kicking him in the side of his forehead. His head snapped backwards, but he bite back the yelp this time.

Between this, and the shinobi holding him down, he wasn't even sure where Junpei was. All he could hear was his own heart beating, and the dulling thuds of the shinobi's foot striking his shoulders, and head until his eyes finally closed, darkness coming to his rescue, and encasing him in a moment of safety.

He didn't wake up again until he felt a sharp sting across his cheek. He groaned lowly, and went to open his eyes, hearing the sound of somebodies voice. However it sounded so muffled, as if they were speaking to him from under water. Another sharp sting was what finally made his eyes flutter open, looking into the face of the same shinobi that had kicked him unconscious.

His head racked with pain, he felt blood running down in front of his face, his jaw was sore, and his hands had been bound behind his back, anchored to a wooden beam pole behind him. He knew he was indoors, but there was only a single light on, enough to cast ugly shadows along the wall, obscuring the rest of his view of the room.

Hidan tried to glare at the shinobi, but he was certain his face only twisted in pain.

"There you go you little bitch," the shinobi spat.

Hidan winced as he struck him across the face with the palm of his hand for a third time, before his fingers made their way through his hair, forcing his head to be facing the shinobi once again. "No, no, no, don't look away. I'm not getting paid for you to sleep this whole time. C'mere, look at me. Look at my eyes. Look!"

Hidan could barely even follow what the man was saying. He had been saying it so fast, it all seemed to blur together, until he made out the last command. The shinobi's breath was almost erratic, as if he had just been so utterly furious throughout beating his unconscious form. Like he had been more so paid to have a personal vendetta. More and more, Hidan found himself hating shinobi driven by money. Had that stupid bitch turned down a few bucks, she might still be alive. Had the shinobi turned down the money in order to do the mission they had been given, they might still be alive, now, this man had been paid to literally beat him to death? Hidan hated Shou for this. He had lied to everybody in the group, he had lied to everybody he had paid. All of this, over being jealous. He certainly went through a lot of trouble, so may he burn forever in the flames of hell.

He felt his head being slammed backwards against the pole before he snapped back to reality. He did in fact glance into the shinobi's crazed, wide eyes. They were so dark, and so empty. Nothing was there but the desire to see Hidan bleed and die. It was such a strange sensation. It wasn't fear Hidan felt, but somehow, his heart felt numb. Numb to the very desire that usually excited him. This man was doing it for all of the wrong reasons. Hidan wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing just what sort of pain he was now feeling in his body.

Drawing his cheeks together slightly, and using his tongue as leverage, Hidan spat a wad of blood and saliva into the man's face out of sheer spite. He was not afraid of this man, no matter how much his body hurt. Of course, the shinobi's hands flew to his face, a cry of disgust and rage bellowing from his mouth until he looked back at Hidan with a lust to destroy him.

Hidan was now feeling stubborn. He would not die by this idiot's hands. He had too much to live for, and he wouldn't be killed here! Not by Shou's betrayal, not by anything! As the man tried to rush for him again, Hidan used his bound arms to hoist his lower half into the air, kicking out sharply, and catching the man in the gut, knocking him backwards and spilling out to the floor. Only when the attack had landed, did a knew wave of pain engulf Hidan. It was coming from his left leg, and he knew then the bone had been broken while he had been unconscious.

Just perfect. He had been made an utter mess, and he was only in this mess because of Shou! Now angry, Hidan found a new burst of energy. Just enough to at least help him stay on his feet when they hit the ground. Wiggling his wrists and trying to work his way out of what felt like rope, Hidan watched as the shinobi picked himself back up off of the ground.

"You ugly little shit! Who do you think you are!? I swear I'll make you scream before this night is over do you hear me!? You'll be begging me to kill you!"

In his dreams. Just as he had motioned to grab Hidan by the throat, Hidan had managed to loosen the binds enough to free his left hand. He reached out and grabbed the man's wrist, before freeing his right hand next, and driving his first into his attackers face. The hit landed, and it landed so beautifully that Hidan would have given himself a pat on the back. The shinobi's head snapped backwards this time, but Hidan knew he couldn't stop. He was too injured and if he allowed his opponent to recover, it would be over. He had lost too much blood himself, and he was only one vital spot away from being killed, that he was certain of.

Throwing himself on the shinobi's chest, Hidan threw them both to the floor before sinking his teeth into the front of the man's throat. He had no other weapon on him, and he knew he wasn't strong enough to simply punch him to death.

There was a gurgled scream as the bitter, coppery taste of blood rushed down Hidan's throat, and out of the corners of his lips. He felt the shinobi's fist strike him in the forehead, but it was weak enough not to faze Hidan. He didn't release the fatal bite until he felt no more movements, or struggles.

Opening his mouth, and spitting the blood out, Hidan used the wall nearby to drag himself up onto his feet. His broken leg was no help to him, but he had to find Junpei and get out. It was only then, did Hidan begin to become afraid. Afraid for Junpei. He had been right by the wall that had exploded, and Hidan had lost sight of him after that. Where were the two shinoi that had held Hidan down? Where was the shinobi that had attacked Junpei? Was he alright? What if he had been knocked unconscious too, and beaten to death by all three? Junpei wasn't a spring chicken anymore, his bones were more brittle than Hidan's, he couldn't take a hit like he probably used to have.

The sheer panic now fueling him, Hidan found himself limping, and dragging himself along the wall faster and faster until he felt himself literally hopping on his right leg, using his hand to steady himself along the wall. He glanced from room to room, and listened for any struggling, but it was so unsettingly quiet.

He did not stop until he heard a soft thud against the door ahead of him. He stopped, and nearly tripped over himself, but managed to catch himself on the doorknob. However, he couldn't hold himself up for long since he had lost the only footing he had, and began falling to the side against the door. Somehow though, during the fall, he managed to twist the knob, his body weight pulling the door towards him, causing him to fall slightly ahead of it. He rolled onto his side and glared in the doorway, but stopped when he spotted Junpei in the floor on his stomach. His arms were out as he had been dragging himself along the floor. His body was completely broken, and it made Hidan's stomach churn, his cry becoming a sheer scream of terror forgetting honorifics altogether.

"Junpei!" There was no way he would survive a wound like this. Only when Hidan scrambled to be by his head, pulling his upper body into his lap, did he noticed that one of his legs had been completely severed from his body by the knee. Junpei groaned weakly, and rolled onto his back, his head falling against Hidan's chest, Hidan's arms wrapping around him to steady him there.

"Hidan..." His voice was soft, weak. His eyes were fluttering from open, to closed, and his mouth was slightly parted. He was missing a few teeth, and the corner of his mouth had been sliced, as if someone had put a kunai inside. "It...it isn't all mine..." He grinned weakly, proud that he had at least taken the offending shinobi with him.

Hidan felt his heart ache, his body beginning to shake, his throat starting to close. For the first time in his life, he was on the verge of tears. This was the second father figure to be ripped out of his life. It wasn't fair. Everything had been going so great before all of this.

"No," he begged. His voice was hoarse, laced with desperation. "Don't leave me...please Junpei, don't..." He couldn't even begin to reason with himself that no words could keep this man alive. And how could Hidan let him live like this just to suffer? He couldn't imagine the pain Junpei must be in.

Junpei frowned, glancing up at Hidan. "My boy...don't you dare shed a tear over me. I'll..." he paused as a bolt of pain shot through his body, making his hiss and winced through clenched teeth. He took a few moments before gathering himself again, just enough to finish. " I'll be alright...you had to be on your own sooner or later...now I can be where I belong. Rejoice for me Hidan. Like I've always taught you..." He seemed to have more to say, but suddenly his body began limp in Hidan's arms, a sigh being the last sentence to offer before his eyes grew dull.

"No..." Hidan tightened his grip before burying his face in Junpei's chest, the tears spilling against every ounce of his will, a loud cry of anger, and sorrow being released throughout the entire building. The cries continued, Junpei's name becoming a chant to Hidan's tongue, his heart aching, finding every way to release the utter agony he felt. He crumbled upon Junpei's body, shaking uncontrollably, feeling his thoughts cease, now no longer even able to howl in grief. He clung to his body tightly, now irrationally fearful that if he let go, Junpei's body would simply vanish into thin air.

He hadn't even noticed that the sun was already rising, he didn't notice the hours that passed by as he did nothing but lay upon Junpei, unable to pull himself from the maddening cycle that was constant sobbing, and the pain his heart felt versus his body. He didn't even notice the band of approaching footsteps until a pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him up, before tossing him carelessly to the floor away from Junpei. He panicked once more, crawling frantically to shield Junpei's body. "No! Get away from him! Don't! No, fucking stop!"

Only when he was tossed away from Junpei a third, and forth time, the forth time another set of hands, wrapping around to grab his robes, did he stop and finally see just who it was that was there. Taromaru stood in front of Hidan, but was staring at Junpei's body. His face was laced with anger, his fists clenching by his sides.

Hidan panted heavily, but finally heard Gonzo's imposing voice, the most serious he had ever heard. "Hidan-nii, stop moving, or I'll kill you myself."

He complied wordlessly, watching as Taromaru finally turned to face Hidan, sending a chill down his spine as he winced from the pain in his body.

"Release him," was the command. Gonzo did in fact let Hidan go, but he couldn't even find the strength to get up. He only could stare, suddenly feeling very small as Taromaru approached him, slowly crouching down in front of him.

Hidan felt his face being taken in Taromaru's hand, his eyes laced with disappointment, and rage. "How dare you..."

How dare he? How dare he what? Hidan's brow twisted in confusion, his mouth struggling to make words, but Taromaru continued.

"How dare you act so selfishly!" he yelled. Releasing his face, he took him by the hair and shoved him to look at Junpei's body. "Just look at him! How can you sit and mourn over him like a pathetic whelp!? Everything he had ever taught to you, and you cast it aside as if it didn't even matter! All of the time, and the effort he put into you! He loved you! You were the son he was never able to have, he wanted nothing but to see you grow, and flourish under his guidance! He was so proud of you! Bragged about you every second of every day! All he ever wanted, was to do well in Jashin-sama's eyes, be released from all of the suffering he had to endure from living, and pass on every bit of information, and knowledge he had to somebody special! That was you! Just when he can finally be free of his suffering on this earth, doing what he loved, just when be can be with Jashin-sama, just when you should be the happiest for him, you do nothing but crumble and weep!? Why!? What did it mean to you!? Did it mean anything!?" He released Hidan's hair, shoving him forward towards Junpei's body once more.

"Say something! Speak if you wish to be heard! Why, Hidan-san, why!? Did you want his suffering to continue!? Tell me, or I'll kill you where you sit!"

Hidan closed his eyes tightly, biting his teeth together to stop them from shivering before his shoulders clenched. "I'm sorry." His voice was barely above a whisper as he fought to continue, feeling the blades of the scythe pressing against his neck daring him to say the wrong thing. "I didn't mean to! I loved him too! I just wanted him here with me...I wasn't ready to see him go...I didn't mean to be selfish I swear! I...I'm glad he can be with Jashin-sama...I didn't mean for this...please believe me. I would never want him to suffer."

"Years Hidan-san. Years he's wanted this. Years he spent wanting to die the way a shinobi was supposed to die. A battle most fierce till his dying breath...and you spit in his face, and turn your back against everything he's taught you. I believe your compassion for him...but you _will_ be punished for this. Anybody else would be killed...especially since I know you know better. It is _only _because of Junpei's wish to see you grow, that I force myself not to kill you for this insignificance." The scythe was replaced upon his back, before Taromaru began to turn away. "You will carry him back Hidan-san. It is the _least_ you can do after all of this. You will not be permitted to celibate during his cremation ceremony. Instead, you will spend that time begging not mine, but Jashin-sama's forgiveness, as I will go out of my way to attempt have your body cleansed of this sin. You do not deserve it. Especially since I myself will have to beg forgiveness for not killing you. I only pray Jashin-sama understand and forgives what I am trying to do for Junpei-san."

He took one last look at Junpei's body before sneering at Hidan. "Get up...get him on your back, and bring him home." He glanced towards the rest of the group he had brought along, each of them taking a fearful step back and lowering their heads respectfully. "Let's move!" Within a few swift bounds, they were gone, leaving Hidan to attend to Junpei's body alone.

The journey back was only made the worse from how torn up his emotions were, along with how racked with pain his body was. When he did finally arrive, hours after Taromaru and the group, he was greeted coldly, more than likely from Taromaru's anger, and Junpei's body was taken away from him. Within the next moment as the rest prepared for the ceremony, he had been taken by Taromaru through the cave, towards an iron door that was always locked. People that went inside, were normally there for the ritualized suicides they were forced to preform when they sinned. It didn't ease him though knowing that there had been a gruesome punishment waiting for him.

Through the iron door was a wide, flat room. Skeletons remained, and the odor was foul, making him feel sick. The stench of death. Old, dried up symbols had been drawn all over the floors with cracking, fading blood. However Taromaru was leading Hidan to the center of the room, where a giant metal grill that was resting upon four legs, had been placed. Dark coals had been placed beneath it, and immediately, Hidan knew what was going to happen. He cringed inside, but Taromaru pulled him along, and released him in front of the grill.

"Strip. Then get on, and lay down on your back...I will return for you after the ceremony. By then, you had better hope you have Jashin-sama's understanding."

Hidan swallowed a lump in his throat before slowly peeling the robes off of his body. Never, during being naked did he ever feel naked...now...he felt it. It was a horrible feeling. How exposed he really was. Not to Taromaru even, but to Jashin-sama. Sucking in a breath, he crawled on top of the grill and moved to lay on his back with his arms down by his sides. His breath stilled and he felt his body begin to sweat in anticipation. Turning his eyes he watched as Taromaru made the proper hand seals, and release a small wave of fire, lighting the coals. Seeming satisfied that they would stay lite, he turned away, and left the room, leaving Hidan to literally roast.

His body began to sweat from the heat, and he felt the pain of the iron grill rods heating up, burning into his back, charring his skin. He closed his eyes tightly, fighting back tears of pain as he seethed and groaned. Inside of his mind, the frantic praying began, as if somehow it would stop the pain.

'_What have I done? I never wanted to disobey you, or Junpei. I can't believe I let myself do it. I didn't even think. My emotions ran wild...I should have been stronger. How could you want me after I treated your teachings like they were meaningless? Please...I can only beg you to forgive me. I will do anything in your name, if I can just be given a second chance to. Jashin-sama...it hurts so much...is this what Junpei felt when he died? He didn't hardly cringe...I can barely stand it! I feel so weak compared to him. This is what he felt isn't it? At least...it's close to it surely?' _

He had to pause in his mind as his mouth opened, releasing a low, soft scream of pain. He could feel the skin on his back literally sticking to the hot iron, his arms, legs, the heels of his feet, and his hands starting to do the same. He lifted his limps a little in order to try to at least keep himself from melting onto the iron, but doing so was next to impossible. He couldn't control himself enough to move.

'_It hurts so badly. I can't move. I'll be honest with you. I can't even tell if I'm begging because I am hurting, or because I really do want your forgiveness. I won't make excuses, and I know I was wrong. What else do you want me to say? I can't say anything can I? What can I say to make up for this? All I can do is sit here and burn...I won't even be able to move until Taromaru-sama comes back for me...maybe I am begging for forgiveness. You can't get me off of here after all. I'm wrong. You can, but I know you won't. You're probably just as pissed at me as everyone else. I'm fucking sorry! Alright!? I am fucking sorry! I'm glad for Junpei, I am, but fuck this! I mean no disrespect, believe me! In my position I am in no place to express any anger. I feel it though and I don't even know why! Maybe I hate myself for this...maybe I hate Shou for this...I swear if he were alive, I'd fucking kill him myself! How could he do this to us!? Why!? What could he have achieved!? Nothing! I hate him for this! I hate him! I hate him!'_

"I hate him! I hate him! I wish you were alive Shou so I could kill you my damned self! I hate you! This is all your fault! If it weren't you for this would never have happened! Jashin-sama! I curse his fucking soul! I want him to burn with me! I want him to hurt! I want him to suffer in hell for this! Tear him apart! Arrrgh!" He screamed out as his skin beneath him blistered and seemed to boil. He felt like he was going to catch on fire at any moment.

"Fine! If you're going to kill me, kill me! Take me to Shou! I want to kill him over and over again! I'll fight the devil for the chance to! Fuck! I want his blood to spill! I want a lake out of it! I-"

He screamed out once more as he felt a heavy fabric cover his body, then his skin ripping and tearing as he was pulled off of the grill and onto the floor. He opened his eyes, fury blazing in the purple irises. His breath was coming out in heavy seethes as he looked at the blanket that was now around him. Over him, Taromaru was looking into his eyes, seeming mildly surprised.

"It seems Jashin-sama hasn't determined you ready for death yet. I am surprised honestly."

Somehow Hidan felt his anger directing towards Taromaru, suddenly wanting to yell and scream at him, just just as he opened his mouth to do so, his body grew limp, falling prey to unconsciousness once again.

**Before you say anything let me explain. I HATE fanfics that have Hidan cry. I have always expressed this, but I thought given he is still young, was in shock from Shou, and Junpei on top of it, with what mental instability is canon for him...I deemed it appropriate for this time only, never to be repeated! O_O I tried to take everything into consideration and this happened. I apologize for any confusion since I tried to explain everything as clearly as possible but I am unsure if it is. So any questions about wtf just happened around the betrayal, feel free to ask and I will try to better explain. I was so focused on writing the chapter as clearly as possible, I feel I may have made it a jumbled mess instead XD **

**Please review you guys, it means the world to me and is really motivating for me to write more! **


	16. Suspicious

The room was silent for a moment, neither of them speaking. The only source of light came from the candles that were resting around the sides of the bedroom. Finally Yoko was the first to make noise through a low sigh. It earned her an annoyed look from Gonzo, but she couldn't help it. "He's never been the same."

Gonzo knew who she was referring to of course. "After everything that's happened, can you really blame him?"

Naturally they were speaking of Hidan. Ever sense Shou and Junpei deaths four years ago, they saw less and less of him. When they did see him, he was always surrounded by candles set in patterns along a blood drawn diagram, mumbling to himself. Lost in such a heavy trance, it was impossible to get his attention.

They had simply learned to leave him along during those times, but he hardly ever came down for the meal gatherings, he hardly spoke to anybody, and he was almost always along. Yoko had been worried enough about him to convince Gonzo into sharing a room with him. Not that they ever saw more of him from it.

Finally Gonzo closed the small scriptures he had been reading, turning to look at Yoko. "You know I think it's done him some good though?"

She looked over towards him with a raised brow, waiting quietly for him to elaborate.

"I think it was really the slap to the face he needed. He'll be better prepared for this sort of thing. He'll be more guarded. He's changed a little, but I don't think it's for the worse." To Gonzo, when they did catch sight of him, Hidan was still Hidan. He still remained rude, loud, disrespectful to everybody they spoke to, and he still could have a laugh or too.

That much told Gonzo, whatever was going on with Hidan, wasn't linked to emotional trauma like Yoko suspected. He glanced over towards her. She seemed uncertain how to respond to it still.

"Why does he stay shut away all the time then?"

Gonzo shrugged his shoulders before pulling out another scroll, and rolling it across the top of the bed in front of where he was sitting. "Who can say. I stay out of his business, and he keeps out of mine. Why do you care?"

She blinked for a moment. Why did she care? Because he was still her friend, because she still had a bit of a soft heart. She always had a bit of a soft spot for who she considered her friends. Gonzo included. She didn't answer him, instead, she looked down at the scroll and smiled when she recognized what it was, especially when he confirmed her suspicions by pulling out three familiar books, and layding them open.

"You still trying?"

He paused for a moment in his reading, his eyes flicking up to look at her face, a large grin spreading across his strong jaw. "Nice subject change. Yea. I'm hoping I can summon him by tonight...I hope so anyway."

Yoko chuckled lightly, and shook her head. "What makes you think he'll listen to you?"

Gonzo glanced back down at the pages, written in the ancient tongue of the demons. "Because I'm not afraid of him? Because we are taught to welcome their kind as our friends? Maybe he'll like some tea if I offer? I don't know pick your favorite."

He groaned in irritation however when the door opened, lightly hitting the rock wall behind it, breaking Gonzo's concentration. He glared up to see who had come in, but was mildly surprised to see Hidan, more like...his hair.

Gonzo began lightly snickering, as Yoko put her hand over her mouth, to keep herself from snickering. Normally they would both simply laugh at him, but his moods have just been so different lately, both felt it would somehow be too insulting.  
"Hidan-nii, what the hell happened to you?"

"Shut up." His hair had been tousled and messed due to one, not having brushed it in two days, and two, taking care of a mouthy Jashinist who happened to be wind release.

"The son of a bitch can rot in hell for this. Urgh," he began trying to smooth it out with his fingers, but was unsuccessful.

Feeling sorry for him, Yoko stood up and moved over to her dresser, pulling out a square framed brush. "Here, hold still." Hidan did so as she began slowly running the teeth of the brush through the silver locks, starting at the ends, and working her way up so not to hurt him.

"Ow, hey watch it!"

Or not. She sighed heavily, and tilted his head up by his chin, using her index finger. "Stop being such a tender-foot would you? Hold still."

"It's not my foot you bitch, I've got a tender scalp!"

Gonzo rolled his eyes at what was just another barking case, and continued reading quietly. Noticing the scrolls that were all set out, Hidan's brow furrowed in confusion. "What is that?"

The man didn't bother to look up, but explained anyway. "Summoning scrolls. I've got to do it by hand so I can summon Lo-san."

The silver brows knitted together tightly, as he heard a bottle being squeezed behind him after Yoko finished brushing his hair. He tried to look up and backwards towards her, but she stopped him by lifting her knee to the back of his head gently. "No, no, not yet. I want to try something. Just look straight."

Hidan sighed heavily, but continued to watch Gonzo work, wondering just what the hell Yoko was up to, and who the hell this Lo was.

"Who's Lo?" Gonzo of course was one of the most well rounded demonologists in the entire cult. Even Taromaru went to him for questions. He could fluently speak the tongue of the demons, and he knew most species, along with specific names, and what all they can do. However, Hidan had thought if he knew this ones name, it must have been a big time bad ass.

Gonzo smirked slightly, carefully writing on the scroll as he listened to Hidan whining about how whatever Yoko was putting into his hair was making his head cold.

"Lo-san is a lesser demon. Nobody truly important. His legs were removed from his pelvis after his last summoner over estimated his abilities, and called him to aide in some large scale fight. Needless to say, for payment of lost limbs, Lo-san ate him after his duty to the was over. Now the poor bastard has to pull himself around by his arms. Dragging himself is all he can do, since his arms are so weak, they can't lift his body up off of the ground to do any fancy hand walking."

Hidan frowned deeply, thinking the entire thing sounded pointless. "Okay, so if he's that weak, and eats his summoners, then why do you want to summon him-would you let go of my head already!?"

Yoko sighed loudly, before running her palms against the back of his head one last time. "Yes, you big baby! Stand up, take a look, you'll thank me."

Of course Hidan stood up, listening to Gonzo's reasons why he wanted such a creature, but not really listening. He looked at himself in Yoko's mirror, but was slightly pleased with the results. She had taken some styling gel, and had brushed and slicked his hair completely back against his head. It was simple, but he actually could see what the world, and his face looked like now. Not a bad sight.

He smirked arrogantly before nodded in approval. "Heh, sexiest thing I've seen all week." Yoko rolled her head to one side, groaning in exasperation. Seemed that a bit of the old Hidan was starting to show back through with his attention being pulled from this big project. Gonzo paused in his explanations, watching in mild irritation as the Jashinist admired his own reflection.

"Alright Hidan-nii you can kiss your own ass later alright. Goddamnit, you rude bastard, don't ask me shit if you're not gonna listen."

Hidan turned his head, smiling sheepishly as he returned to his seat. "Sorry, I wasn't listening to any of that, tell me again?"

The man nearly threw the book in his hands, but instead slammed it back down upon the bed. "Do not make me spill this ink well you ass! I said because the poor bastard could use the company, and he can tell me more of what I want to know about more powerful summons! Son of a bitch, pay attention you A.D.D dick!"

"Well fuck me for asking Gonzo!" he retorted, throwing his hands up in the air.

Wanting to hear none of the absolute bullshit that would no doubt ensue, Yoko stepped in and called out loudly. "Hey! Knock it off, both of you. People are trying to sleep."

Honestly sometimes she felt like the only one with a brain cell. Both were so stubborn, and bullheaded it was painful. However, she had to say it felt good to see that for once Gonzo was right. It seemed that whatever Hidan's new project in life was, it was simply time consuming.

They seemed to be humoring her for now, as they stopped their pre-argument.

They all three sat in a comfortable silence for the next hour or so while Gonzo worked on his scroll before Yoko broke the silence once more.

"Hidan-nii? What have you been working on this whole time anyway? We never see you anymore it feels like."

Hidan seemed to contemplate her answer for a moment, looking back between her and Gonzo.

"Hmm, it's not the right time to say I don't think. I'm no where near finished."

Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true. He felt like he was getting closer and closer to discovering a way to create a permanent bond between himself and Jashin-sama.

It had taken him years of searching. He had secretly broken into Taromaru's personal library, and even gone back to the shrine in the mountains graveyard, after completing a mission to reach them. He had found what was a tattered, waterlogged journal. The journal was valuable to him though because it had belonged to what was the first ever Jashinist. The one that had been blessed with immortality.

Though it had been by pure accident, it seemed that Hidan had been on the right track in doing every ounce of meditation he preformed through a freshly drawn diagram. The immortal's name had been so faded, as was most of the text, that he could make out anything.

Only in some parts towards the middle of the journal, he had mentioned praying at least twice a day in order to thank Jashin-sama for the gift he had been blessed with. It talked more about how the man was paranoid daily, that the blessing would be stripped away from him. How any day could still be his last. How he killed as often as he could, too terrified to stop.

The more he had read, the more pathetic that immortal had begun to sound to Hidan. He was still afraid to die, and it seemed to Hidan he started all of the traditions still followed to this day, out of fear of loosing his gift, rather than actually being grateful. It also made Hidan wonder if perhaps Jashin-sama hadn't taken away the man's gift, out of sheer annoyance to two prayers a day. Granted Hidan felt like he kept in close contact with his God, he didn't do it sniveling like a coward, and he wasn't begging for something constantly.

It had been a bit of a downer to read, but rather than tossing it away, Hidan had simply locked it in his room, carefully hidden from all eyes. He did feel like perhaps he was on the verge of discovering what to do, but the problem was actually being certain. Nothing he read could truly help him, and he felt as though in the end, he was going to have to create an entire ritual from scratch.

The only thing that was for certain, was the at the end of it all, a sacrifice would have to be made. His own body. He would have to risk everything, give all of the trust he had acquired over the years, wait until he could feel what he had come to associate as Jashin-sama's presence during odd points of meditation, and at that exact moment, when he felt his God there, ready to either say yay, or nay, he would preform the ritualized suicide. The results would be, either he would be brought back to life, and ever lasting, or he would simply die before it was his time to die.

Hidan jumped however when he heard Gonzo's voice calling out to him. "Hey meat wad I'm talking to you!"

The purple eyes narrowed as he flipped him a rude middle fingered gesture. "Suck my ass Gonzo! What is it?"

He man rolled his eyes and pointed to the doorway as Yoko stood with a small cupcake with a single light candle sticking out of the top of the icing. His brow twisted in confusion until Gonzo spoke once more.

"I said happy birthday, so did she, and you zoned out!"

His eyes widened as he stood up from the chair. He didn't know what to say. Sure he had been wished happy birthday before by these guys, but they had never gone out of their way to...do anything for him before. "Oh! Oh, heh, I guess I've been so busy with everything I actually forgot. Wow...thanks. New hairstyle and a cupcake eh?"  
She smiled widely, holding out the tiny treat towards Hidan as he accepted it quite happily.

"Heh, congratulations. You made it to see nineteen Hidan." He laughed, but fully agreed with her.

"Yea, somehow nobody's managed to kill me yet." He blew out the tiny candle and went to pull it out until it flickered back to life. "Wha?" He frowned and tried again, but for a second time the damned thing flickered to life. Yoko began laughing as Gonzo too started to giggle.

It took Hidan a moment to get what she had done and he rolled his eyes before wetting his fingers and smothering the flame out between the pads. "Oh har, har, fucking har you guys, you've just been getting such happy laughs outta me all fucking evening. Bitches." Bitches, and their stupid trick candles that didn't go out!

The rest of the evening had resulted in Hidan finally going to bed at a decent time. He had just been so tired from all of the work he had been putting into everything. Dreams flooded his mind, and his head rolled from one side, to the other, his fingers curling around the sheets as the dreams became more clear.

The entire world seemed as though it had been covered by an off white filter. The birds had all gone, the deer, everything. The forest was perfectly still. Even the wind had fled, making the trees look as though all the life had been sucked away from them. No leaves had grown. Just empty branches. The ground was covered with soft patches of lush grass. Nobody was there. Nobody expect for Hidan.

It was as though he was moving through water. His limbs would hardly respond to what his brain wanted. He wanted to walk forward, to explore this familiar setting, although it was different from the mountains graveyard. Everything was set up the same down to a perfect T. The shrine was not there. The water was gone. Everything was quiet.

Hidan couldn't hear himself breathing, no thoughts could go through his mind. It was as if he were nothing more than a zombie, trying to walk with no destination to reach. Footsteps could be heard behind him, and he could feel it was dangerous. He knew to feel threatened, but he couldn't control his own body enough to so much as turn his head. He wanted to look at what was there.

He could hear the heavy breath, the constant growls that rumbled from the creature behind him. He felt afraid. His heart raced, and he wanted to run. However he was only able to step forward,his legs feeling less and less attached to his own body. He knew they were there, but he couldn't even feel them.

The further he moved, the closer the creature seemed to come. Hidan's teeth bite together tightly, his mind battling with his body, just so he could look. He wanted to look. To see the creature that frightened him. He just couldn't.

However, he could control where he was going. With all of the will power he possessed, he began to step more, and more to one side. Working to turn to his left, just so he could see what was there. He moved his eyes as far as they could see, but all that was there was more dead trees, and lush grass. More. He had to turn more.

It felt as though he was spending ten minutes in a constant panic, just trying to see what this creature was. He wanted to see it so badly. Only just as he finally could face the right direction of the sounds, all that was visible to his eye was a sudden field of flowers. However, he was horrified at the sight. There were arms where the petals should have been, the steams seeming to be melting, causing the actual flowers to lean heavily to one side. The center of the flowers were faces that Hidan knew. At the same time, he didn't know them. They were the faces of those he had killed. He recognized each and everyone, and could pick them all out.

No noise was present. Just the blank faces as soon they fell and were buried into the grass, their mouths opening in gasps, as though the grass was somehow suffocating them. Hidan still felt fear, but he knew he wasn't afraid of these flowers. Shocked yes, but it was not the source of his fear.

Again, he could feel the footsteps behind him, and he began the process of turning around all over again, not wanting to look at the faces of the dying flowers anymore. He struggled, and took each step at a painfully slow, and narrow rate. His feet seeming to just slide and shuffle by millimeters at a time.

Finally, he was once again facing the right direction, only to be greeted by a large paw coming towards his eyes.

Gasping loudly, Hidan sat upright in his bed, his body coated in a thick stream of sweat, his heart pounding as though he had received a falling dream. He turned to see Gonzo and Yoko, his eyes already adjusted to the darkness encasing the room. They were fast asleep, unaware that their roommate was awake.

He ran a hand over his face, trying to wipe away the sweat as it dripped and burned into his eyes. Seething in irritation, he swung his legs off of the side of the bed. After spending a few moments in order to search for his pants, he had located them, slide them on, and was now leaving the room.

He closed the door softly behind him, trying not to wake his friends. He wasn't really concerned with how much sleep they were getting, so much as he just didn't want them bombing him with 'what's wrong' and 'do you want to talk about it?' It was a nice gesture, but it got old. Hidan had made it clear, and plain to them that he didn't want to tell them about what was going on too early, and that the time for them to know was coming. Only, after that dream, Hidan felt like that time drew nigh. He had to make the preparations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following morning, Yoko had woken up first, always being one of the first ones awake. She yawned widely, combing through the blonde bangs in her face with her fingers. She glanced over, not surprised to see Gonzo snoring away, scrolls having been set carefully on his nightstand. Glancing across the room, she noted Hidan was already gone.

She sighed, wondering just how much sleep the silver haired man had actually gotten by now. Moving to get up, she slide into her robes, and combed through her hair, making sure to part it off to one side since she was trying something new, tired of staring at the straight down the middle part she had been stuck with since childhood.

She knew it would be dark throughout the cave. At midnight, the torches along the cavern walls were smothered in order for the night to be welcomed inside, and they were rekindled every morning by five in the morning. Problem was, her battery powered cock read four thirty. So it was still early. She took one of her candles, lighting the wick quietly, and started off, feeling wide awake.

Her intention was of course to make a bit of herbal tea for herself, perhaps have her breakfast early since the dining room would be empty, and quiet. It wasn't uncommon for it to always be occupied by small to large group of people, so to have the whole room to herself would be a treat. It was a large room of course, meant to seat everybody, with a small flight of stairs leading to the High Priest's throne where he could sit at the head of each table.

Entering the room, Yoko was grateful to see it completely dark and empty. She lite one of the many candles that had been placed upon the table, before setting hers beside of it, and moving to take a seat with her tea. However, her eyes took her to the empty throne. Since her youth, she had always wondered what the dining room looked like from up there. To be there was considered rude, and disrespectful to the High Priest. Only, now it was empty, and nobody was around.

Biting her lower lip, she thought it would be harmless to maybe just look for curiosity's sake. Double checking, she suddenly began having that nagging feeling that as soon as she did she'd be caught. The feeling most get when they think about doing something they weren't supposed to a little too hard.

She still found her body rising from the seat, moving over the barely visible stone seat, layered with a brilliantly crimson cushion. She took each stair slowly, ready to jump off should someone catch her, but soon the throne was just in arms reach. She slowly stuck out her hand, irrationally afraid that somehow the chair itself would correct her, but soon, her fingertips touched the cold stone, trailing up to the back, her body slowly turning to look out at the dining room.

A tiny smile was brought to her lips when she could see just what a view it was. It was definitely new, and a glorious change. Literally everything could be seen. All tables, seats, décor, the walls, the three archways in the cave walls that served as the doors. It was slightly thrilling. At least until her wrist was gently taken by fingers layered with cold metal.

She gasped and turned, bringing her arm up, but the grip tightened. She only froze in place when her face met the deer skull that rested over Taromaru's face. It was the many golden, and jeweled rings he wore on his fingers, that made her wrist chill. Her eyes widened, and her breath slowed, resembling a child that had been caught stealing. Taromaru had known her since she was a young child of course, her parents having been Jashinists, so this was embarrassing for her, because they both knew that she knew better.

"I...I'm so sorry, I just wanted to look," she explained. She felt so embarrassed, and afraid of if he would be angry with her. He didn't look angry, but then again she knew not to trust his face. It was all in his voice.

When he did speak though, she could tell he only sounded slightly tired. "My dear, I know you know the old phrase about the cat. So I'll spare you that." He released his hold on her before moving to take his seat in his throne. Of course, Yoko began to walk down the stairs to leave the thrones surface, but he called to her once more, gesturing for her return with a curl of his fingers.

"You do not have to be embarrassed Yoko-chan. Come, sit."  
She turned her head, a sheepish smile tugging at her lip. Well, it seemed this would be one of the rare occasions she could talk with their leader. "Thank you. I'll just grab my tea." She moved down the stairs, took her cup, before moving faster than she intended to get back to the stairs, unable to help the excitement.

Knowing what he meant of course by sit, she took a seat at the top step that lead to the thrones surface, moving to be slightly sideways on Taromaru's left side so she could see him. She sipped her tea, and Taromaru seemed pleased that she had been willing to remain, and sighed contently. "What exactly are you doing awake at this time my dear? You're earlier than usual."

She finished swallowing the hot liquid, but turned to look at him. "Well, I suppose I just had my mind full is all."

The blonde brow raised over Taromaru's face, his head tilting to one side. "Explain." It was not a suggestion of course, and Yoko fully understood this.

"Well." She did feel guilty somehow, feeling as though she was wrongly gossiping about a taboo topic. "We've all been worried about Hidan-nii. It was his birthday yesterday you know, but getting him to smile anymore is like pulling teeth. Gonzo doesn't worry, but I do."

Taromaru nodded his head, he himself having been concerned about the silver haired boy. "This is true enough. Then again, you take after your mother Yoko. She too was a worrier."

Yoko continued to listen as she sipped her tea, her head bobbing once in agreement as Taromaru continued.

"I too have been concerned though. I wonder frequently what he is up to, though I do not wish to butt in on his business. However, my suspicions for trouble are growing. Why is his behavior shifting, why is he alone, and why do you not know what he is doing? I do not want to have these concerns...but I don't want another situation like Shou."

Yoko stiffened at the mention of Hidan's late friend. She still missed Shou and was unable to accept the facts of what he did. No explanations, and totally out of the blue. "Hidan wouldn't betray us," she blurted. She knew better. "He's worked too hard to become close to Jashin-sama...he wouldn't give that up. He has nothing else to dream of."

Taromaru didn't seem pleased with the answer of course, still wanting to know what the other man was doing. However it seemed Yoko truly didn't know.

"Would Gonzo be more enlightened?"

Yoko shook her head, finishing off the tea, and setting it aside. "No. He and Hidan hardly speak, and Gonzo is too preoccupied with his summoning. Besides, I really don't think he cares either way. He's only focus on himself and his studies." However she had to commend him for his devotion to learning. Gonzo looked, and acted like a brute, however he was a brute with a lot of valuable information.

Yoko stood up soon, and turned to face Taromaru. "I wish I knew, he hardly sleeps, and I just want to know if he is alright. He's become something like a brother to me over the years, and I value his friendship."  
Taromaru stood slowly, walking closer to the edge of the stairs, stepping down the first one in order to be more on Yoko's level. "I know you do. However, do not blind yourself to what the truth may be, should I find out what he is doing behind my back."

Slowly, his hand reached down, his fingers curling beneath Yoko's chin to tilt her head up. "If you find out...and his intentions are against us, you will tell me."

She sighed softly, afraid that he would say that. However, she knew she had to say if Hidan was plotting against them the way that Shou did. "Yes."

Nodding his head, he leaned his head forward, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before releasing her.

She sighed softly before starting to turn away, listening as Taromaru resumed his seat, legs stretching out in front of him lazily. "Do not keep secrets from me Yoko-chan...I'll know. If I find out you are aiding him, I will kill you."

Her shoulders tensed, feeling suddenly pressured. He must have been truly nervous about another betrayal if he was stressing himself like this. "I won't Oto-san."


	17. Confrontation

That evening Yoko knew she had to confront Hidan. She moved through the cave in order to find the room where Hidan had continued coming in and out of. She had to know what he was doing, and why he didn't want to tell her, or..

Her thoughts were cut off as she nearly ran right into Gonzo as he rounded the corner. He jumped slightly, not having seen or heard her coming, and placed a hand to his forehead. "Goddamnit Yoko-chan!" He growled in irritation, turning away from her, but continuing the turn in order to face her. "The hell are you going?"

She shook her head and placed her hand on his chest to shove him aside. "Not now Gonzo-san. I have to go see Hidan."

His brow knitted tightly together, and he move to be beside of her. "Me too."

She looked at him questioningly, but he continued to explain. "Taromaru-sama asked me to get answers out of him last night when I got up to piss. I wanted to wait until he was going back into that damn room before I did though, so I could catch him if he's plotting against us."

Yoko nearly paused in her step. "Wait, he was up last night, and asked you? He just asked me this morning." Why didn't Taromaru just ask himself? He found out about Shou on his own didn't he? Why didn't he just do the same with Hidan? Why was he using her and Gonzo? It wasn't making a damn bit of sense.

Gonzo shook his head and scoffed. "I don't know, but I'll ring his neck myself if he's trying to betray us." Gonzo was a loyal man on top of being as religious as he was. He wouldn't stand for disloyalty from any Jashinist if he could help it.

The pair marched together in union, their minds flooding with questions, their hearts becoming fueled with anger, and distrust. Together, they simply walked in through the door to find Hidan standing in the middle of the room. He had set up a large triple ringed formation of candles, and in the center he stood upon a blood drawn diagram, his right hand coated in fresh blood. The ritualized suicide. Gonzo knew that set up anywhere. Why was he killing himself!?

They all stared at each other for a moment before Hidan finaly spoke. "Shut the door guys. I have to tell you something."

Yoko did in fact shut the door as Gonzo approached the rings of candles circling around the diagram and Hidan. "You had damn well better start explaining yourself. What's going on with you?"

Hidan glared slightly, but began explaining, lowering his voice so nobody else would hear. "I think I've found a way to reach eternal life."

Gonzo scoffed and tossed his hands up into the air, Yoko staring at him as if he'd lost his marbles completely.

"Hidan-nii," she questioned. "What are you talking about? Why were you even...why?"

He shook his head and sighed. "I can't explain a lot right now because I have to get started before my focus breaks. Guys if this works...I can actually spend the rest of my life as a missionary for Jashin-sama. Don't you see? If I spread the word, and can't be killed...more people can be enlightened. More can be saved. I didn't mean for you guys to worry, but I didn't want word getting out. _I_ wanted to be the one to do this because I want Jashin-sama to be proud of _me_. I want for him to look at me the way he does Taromaru-sama."

Hidan couldn't wait to get started, and he was even more excited to see the look on Taromaru's face when he told him. Surely he'd be happy that Hidan had worked this hard in order to serve Jashin-sama, just the way that Taromaru had. Well then again, he had right by birth. No matter. Perhaps it would only impress him more.

Gonzo shook his head and went to protest, but stopped himself. He knew it was too late, and that Hidan's mind was already made up. "Fine, go ahead and kill yourself, see if I give a shit, you fucking idiot. This is never going to work! Don't you get it!? That story you heard from Junpei-san's gone to your fucking head. It's just an old legend that's been passed down and warped over the years!"

Gonzo knew better than that. Yes he believed that Jashin-sama had shown himself to mankind before. Otherwise how would they know about him? He believed that the rituals and ceremony's were held then in order to praise Jashin-sama's name. He believed they had praised his name however for sparing their lives, and promising to save them from their pain and suffering so long as they understood the pain of others. So long as they were enlightened, and were prepared to serve him during the event of their deaths, they would be saved. He didn't believe for a moment however, that the first man was gifted with immortality.

"Not even Taromaru-sama has immortality, and he's Jashin-sama's son! You're making a mistake, don't!"

He knew it was a lost cause. As he watched Hidan ignore him and his warnings altogether, and sit his happy ass down in the diagram to begin, he gave up trying. He just couldn't believe he would go through with it. After this was over, Gonzo would see to it that the stupid legend wasn't repeated to new, bullheaded members. Immortality his ass.

Hidan knew Gonzo was just worried for him, and he understood why he didn't believe his words. However Hidan had to trust his instincts. Another reason why he hadn't told them. When they heard about the sacrificial bits, they would try to talk him out of it. Not happening. The same could be said for Taromaru-sama. Either he would be worried for Hidan, or more likely, want to be the only immortal among the group. However, Hidan knew he wouldn't have much of a choice but to accept the fact once it was presented, and as Jashin-sama's son, he couldn't deny the practicality of having an immortal missionary. It would all work itself out in the end.

Yoko and Gonzo could only watch however as Hidan pulled out a pair of retractable, sacrificial pikes, his lips moving in a wordless prayer, his eyes closing. They knew it was too late for him, and they held to much respect for Jashin-sama to interrupt a sacred ritual, no matter how foolish it was being used. It wasn't their jobs to stop anybodies death. It countered all points of Jashinism.

It happened so fast for them however as they watched the pike being lifted, and soon driven through Hidan's body, by his own hand altogether. Yoko squeezed her eyes shut, as Gonzo lowered his head solemnly. After a brief cry of pain, blood poured from the wound, and Hidan's body stilled, unmoving.

_Pain was all he could feel. However his hands couldn't move off of the pike. His mouth fell open, and his body simply went numb before his eyes fell closed. He was aware of feeling as though he were asleep. Dreaming. He wasn't aware of anything except for a harsh voice filing his ears. Growls mixed with the barely humanoid voice as it spoke, obviously male. _

"_You little fool." It sounded displeased. Jaashin-sama? _

_Yes. Hidan knew as soon as he heard it. It was him. It was really him. He wasn't happy however like he thought he would be. He could still feel the pain in his heart, and it was all he could focus on before the voice's volume rose. However, there was no room now for doubt in Hidan's mind. All along, it was all true. Jashin-sama existed, and was with him. _

"_You are deceived. There is now but one with my gift. Become the brother of your enemies through their blood, and give them to me."_

_He couldn't answer, though he worked force his lips to move. He wanted to speak, but simply couldn't function. It was as if he was just floating through a cloud of Jashin-sama's words, aware of his presence, but he couldn't see him. At least not until the last minute. It happened within a split second. So fast that Hidan wasn't even certain he had seen what he had seen._

_A giant tiger stood in the distance of his vision. The tiger in his vision from the mountains. The head was nothing but a skull, the rest of the body furred with the signature orange and black coat. All along the coat were deeply embedded scars from what Hidan could only assume was battle. Around his thick neck, a long, bellowing, black cloak had been clasped with a silver Jashinist symbol. The ends of the cloak, which stopped at the rump of the cat, were torn and tattered from wear. The beast let out a massive roar, chilling Hidan to the bone. _

The purple irises snapped open in shock, a gasp of pain coming from his mouth. "Oh!...Fuck! Son of a bitch!" He tried to roll to his side, but realized the pike was still stuck within his chest. He gasped, and coughed in pain before moving to pull the weapon from his body, then forcing his legs to pick his body up off of the ground.

His heart skipped a beat however when he noticed his hands. His skin was completely black, layered with white strips that vaguely resembled bone. He rose his hands slowly, making certain he was seeing it correctly before his jaw fell open. "What...what's..."

He looked down at himself, but couldn't see through his robes the rest of his skin. However he did note Yoko and Gonzo's faces. Horror was the only word he could use.

Yoko shook her head in disbelief, fear laced in her eyes. "No...no you died! Hidan-nii...no! This..." She was silenced by Gonzo who placed his hand on her shoulder, never taking his eyes off of Hidan.

For the longest moment, all three stood in shock and fear.

Only when Gonzo spoke did they all seem to snap back to reality. "Hidan-nii...what...what happened?" He slowly approached his friend, but it was obvious he was nervous.

Hidan shook his head, now unsure of how to explain it. "I saw him! I, I heard his voice! He...he said I was deceived. That...there was one with his gift...something about making myself a brother by blood?" He gripped his head with both hands, closing his eyes in frustration. What had he meant?

Gonzo frowned and shook his head. "One with his gift? Deceived?" What did it mean? One with his gift.

Hidan's brow furrowed suddenly as he opened his eyes, letting his hands fall back to his sides as he picked up the pike, the pain finally starting to become more bearable. "The gift...was immortality. One...me." Was Gonzo right? Did Taromaru not have this gift? Obviously not. Jashin-sama had said so. Over all, Hidan trusted the word of his God, over the word of his Leader. However, was it really his mortal leader? Why would the son of Jashin-sama be mortal?

"I'm going to see Taromaru-sama." It didn't make sense. Hidan wanted answers. Yoko and Gonzo seemed to stunned to really do anything but chase after Hidan as he suddenly bolted to the dining room where he knew the rest of the group would be.

Upon arrival, he didn't stop until he entered the dining room, the sound of shocked gasps, and soft screams rising from the chatter. Everybody rose to their feet, but nobody dared approach. Taromaru also stood, his eye wide behind the deer skull. "What is this!?"

Hidan frowned, and began slowly moving towards him, Yoko and Gonzo skidding to a halt behind him. "Is it true!? You aren't immortal?!"

Taromaru seemed caught off guard, and could hardly force his lips to move. The blood covering Hidan's chest wound singled he should have been dead, and what had happened to his skin?

"What have you done?"

At that moment, it was confirmed. Hidan felt his blood boil, the pikes suddenly in each hand. Taromaru seemed to follow suit, his hand slowly reaching over his shoulder to grip the triple bladed scythe, pulling it free and into his hands.

"You lied. All along...all this time I believed in you. You were the one I thought I could trust. You don't have the promise of eternal life at all...you...you aren't the son of Jashin-sama at all! You fucking liar!" His voice suddenly rose to a shout as he stomped his foot.

"Falsifier! Blasphemer! Traitor! You deceived me! It was you!" Suddenly, each piece to the puzzles, even those long since passed, began to fall into place faster than Hidan could grasp.

"You tried to have me killed! You killed Junpei! You killed Shou! It was all you! Shou never betrayed anybody did he!? Why!? Why did you do it, tell me you ugly sack of dog shit! Fucking tell me!"

The crowd of Jashinist looked at Taromaru, Yoko, and Gonzo wide eyed with disbelief.

Taromaru only stood there with the scythe in his hands, his palms slick with sweat.

However before he could even manage to answer, Hidan started all over again. "You set me up! You knew Shou was innocent! You knew I'd find out your secret, and you wanted to get rid of me, and anybody else around me that would question you!"

Yoko's eyes welled up with tears, the truth hitting her the hardest among Hidan. Her own Father. Lied about who he was to her very face, trying to turn her and Gonzo against Hidan, all because he knew about Hidan's quest to be closer to Jashin. During that time he had gotten more paranoid by the day. Paranoid that Hidan would find out. So he tried to set it up to get rid of Hidan's friends, and Hidan himself, to make sure nobody could find out once the pieces didn't match up. However, that included her. He had already promised to kill her had she aided him. It was sickening to her, and she hated herself for believing him.

Gonzo glared daggers towards Taromaru. He hadn't felt so betrayed since Shou, and here all this time, it had never even been his fault. He had simply been murdered in cold blood. May his soul reach Jashin-sama's care, and may Taromaru be punished forever!

Hidan suddenly charged, having had enough of yelling, and screaming at what was going to be one less leader of the Jashinists. Taromaru of course jumped into action, swinging the massive scythe, only he seemed to have severely underestimated Hidan's rage.

The attack landed, but it only knocked Hidan slightly to the side. With the scythe still embedding itself deeply within Hidan's abdomen, Hidan swung one of the pikes violently, hitting Taromaru in the chest. It was a side slice, and the pike alone wasn't really enough to cause much harm to such a wide target.

Taromaru growled in pain, and jerked the scythe free, before lifting his leg, and kicking Hidan down the stairs. Hidan tumbled down while the other Jashinists seemed to move out of the way, but remained in the room to watch.

Hidan stood back to his feet, only to be hit with the sudden blast of a fireball jutsu from Taromaru. Once more he found himself on the ground, his robes slightly charred and his skin feeling crisp and sticky. He growled in frustration and stood once more. His body burned beyond belief, and pain threatened to bring him to his knees.

He went to move forward until the sight of the blood dripping from his stomach caught his eyes. Blood. Become their brother. His eyes narrowed deeply before he brought the pike to his mouth, the pink tongue uncertainly flicking out to ingest the crimson liquid.

Hidan watched Taromaru's confused expression, but couldn't see anything happening yet. Become their brother...through blood right? What did that mean. He knew it had something to do with blood. What else? There had to be more to it.

He didn't have time to think however, as yet another fireball jutsu was cast towards him. This time Hidan managed to avoid it. Leaping to one side and rushing back towards Taromaru, moving to strike him with the pike, but the giant scythe blocked his course, deflecting the thin pike.

Damnit, what did Jashin-sama mean by what he said? Why were these things never clear? He growled in frustration as the scythe once again tore into his chest, however resting in the knowledge he couldn't die made Hidan forget about dodging completely. He wanted to kill Taromaru, but it was killing him to try to figure out what Jashin-sama meant. He made it sound like there was more to giving somebody to him than...of course. Sacrifice!

Suddenly, it all seemed to click at once, as blow for blow was exchanged, Taromaru fighting to keep Hidan at bay. Sacrificing him, the way Hidan had sacrificed himself to Jashin-sama! Suddenly he felt like an idiot, but there was no time to beat himself up. Taromaru was trying to do that for him.

Before the next attack could follow through, Hidan jumped backwards, landing a few feet away from Taromaru. He stood for just a moment, long enough for the blood to drip on the floor, but Taromaru had other ideas. He charged forward once more, striking him with the massive scythe. Damnit, Hidan would never be able to draw the diagram with him attacking like this!

"Yoko, Gonzo back me up!"

The larger man happily complied as he pulled out the finished scroll, opening it and dropping it to the ground. Biting his finger to draw blood, he slammed his palm down onto the ground, Yoko following suit with her own scroll.

Suddenly from the parchment, leapt the bloodthirsty ape, but along with it, was in fact what Gonzo had been working to summon, all these years.

An ashen gray skinned demon drug itself across the floor by its arms, the end of its spine rattling as it scrapped across the stone floors, teeth bared, claws spreading. He glanced around to see where he was before Gonzo rushed to his side at a dangerously close distance. However he trusted the demon, and wasn't afraid. To him, no demon deserved to be treated anything less than as a friend.

"Lo-sama! Please, I need you're help, there is no time to explain." The creature nodded his head with a sickening growl. "Very well human..."

The ape jumped towards Taromaru as Lo's subtly drug himself under the tables, being more of an ambush type.

Taromaru swung his scythe at the ape before he had to do a complete 360 in order to avoid an attack from Gonzo.

Hidan meanwhile had began to drag his feet through a pile of his own blood, creating the well practiced motion of drawing the diagram. Upon being finished, he blew out a breath. This was going to hurt. Lifting the pike up over his head, he slammed it through his stomach once more, crying out in pain, but soon, the cry turned into a moan, the sudden rush of pain seeming to shift into waves of...ecstasy.

His body, seemed to be perceiving it in a totally new way. It...it barely was hurting him at all.

Taromaru however had staggered mid swing, and fell to the ground, the scythe clattering noisily to the floor. The rest of the Jashinists could only watch in awe, even Gonzo and Yoko pausing their attacks. However as soon as his body hit the ground, the demon's hand reached out from underneath the table, gripping Taromaru's leg. Using the leg's weight, he pulled himself over to the downed man, and gripped the same leg with his free hand, the jaws parting viciously and biting down into the flesh, another cry of pain ringing from the blonde.

Only it wasn't just one summon he had to worry about. The ape raced over to the same leg, the smell of blood driving it almost blindly as it's teeth also sank into the leg beside of where Lo was biting, the mutual understanding between the creatures being to simply hold him there, while trying to sever the limb altogether.

Hidan watched the carnage, but a wicked smile appeared on his face. "That can be for betraying me. This...is for Shou!" He pulled the pike out of his body, only to drive it through the opposite leg of the creatures. Another scream of pain filled the room, Taromaru trying to stop the creatures, but it only received with his hand being bitten through completely by Lo.

Hidan cackled at the sight, his excitement growing to a higher, and higher peek as he barely recognized his own voice. He didn't even know he could hit that high of an octave.

"This, is for Junpei, this is for those that you were supposed to lead, and this is for Jashin-sama!" With each name, came one blow, then another, and then another.

At the time, Taromaru's life was slipping away altogether, the blood pouring from his body at a none stop rate. His eyes began to flutter closed, his screams having died down. Only Hidan wouldn't let blood loss beat hm to the punch line.

Pulling back one final time, he yelled out, driving the pike through his own heart, almost feeling Taromaru's as it stopped beating completely.

It was over...he stood as still as a statue, moaning in absolute pleasure, and he was sure he had ejaculated from the rush of endorphins.

Both Yoko, and Gonzo dismissed their summons, the crowd of Jashinists moving to be closer to their dead leader, all eyes fallen on the skeletal form of Hidan.

The job was done. With his skin seeming to fade back to it's normal shade, Hidan exhaled deeply, pulled the pike out of his body, feeling slightly dizzy from his own blood loss. His eyes scanned the crowd before he moved to be near Taromaru's body.

"Before any of you can say anything listen up!" He pointed a finger towards Taromaru's body, his eyes set in a glare. "This shit stops here! I am Jashin-sama's chosen one, so I claim the right to title of High Priest now! Any of you who have an issue, speak now so I can silence you forever! Deception, is NOT what we are supposed to be about! So I am disgusted to know he had gotten away with this for so long!" He scanned the crowd once more, but nobody moved, or even breathed loudly.

At that point Hidan scoffed and kicked Taromaru's corpse. "Strip him down, and burn this body. I don't want to fucking see it. Jashin-sama will deal with him now."

At once, Yoko, Gonzo, and three others were in the process of removing the man's jewels, mask, and robes. All of it being offered to Hidan as he stripped himself down, unashamed in front of the crowd, slipping himself comfortably into the High Priests wear. It felt right. However the rings were annoying...so those wouldn't be pulled out until the ceremony's, but for now he would wait until he could put them away in his room.

During the meantime, Taromaru's body was in fact burned per request, and soon, Hidan took what he knew was his rightful place at the head of the dining room once they all returned. He sat down heavily, his head falling back against the stone. For the first time in years, he felt like he had reached his purpose. Everything that had happened, had paid off. It was worth it...in the end...it was all worth it. All he regretted, was cursing Shou's name unjustly. For that, he felt guilt.

He watched as Gonzo and Yoko seemed to encourage the others to simply resume their evening routines, to dig back into their feasts, which most of them did, only a few of them seeming to have to discuss what happened amongst themselves. Only Hidan could see that nobody seemed to be displeased with the results, especially after how bitter the comments were becoming about Taromaru. Soon it would be forgotten, and they could move on. For now, venting would be needed. It was a hard betrayal, but Hidan was determined to never again let his people be falsely lead again.

"Gonzo!" The man perked his head up and rushed over to the bottom of the stairs, of course pausing there and nodding his head. "Yea Hidan-n...sama?"

Hidan scoffed and motioned for him to come up all the way. "Come here you moron, don't give me that shit. Look, I need to eventually get into the swing of this shit, but in the meantime, I want to go out to start spreading the word. I'll come back as often as I can, especially for the ceremonies...in the mean time, will you and Yoko look after them while I'm gone? I can't do both at once."

Gonzo seemed speechless, but knew not to be surprised for what Hidan wanted to do. He nodded his head once and locked eyes with Hidan. "You can count on us. Don't worry about them...just do what you need to do, but you have to be here when we need you for the new moons alright?"

Hidan nodded firmly and began to stand from his seat. "Okay...I'm not leaving tonight of course, but I'm gonna be gone hopefully by tomorrow. Until then, I want to sleep."

Gonzo nodded once more, bidding the silver haired man a good night, for once, feeling at peace. He knew how seriously Hidan took his faith, so it wasn't a matter of question if he would be good for the role of Leader or not. They could rest easy.

**BAH, I shat this out in the same night as the previous chapter so I am SO sorry if it seems rushed and confusing There is one more chapter coming, but unfortunately, it will be the last one. Thank you all so much for reading and please, please, review! **


	18. From Now On

**Bwaaaaaa, last chapter you guys D= I had such a blast writing this and I want to thank all of you who had read, reviewed, and enjoyed this ^^ **

Exactly one wee had passed, and during that time, Hidan had lead his first new moon ceremony as smoothly as if he had done it his entire life. The deep, crimson ceremonial robes had added quite a bit of flare to the silver haired man as he had spent the time riling and stirring the crowds. They had even been lucky enough to happen across a lost shinobi, who fell victim to the ceremony and was now erased from existence.

Two days had passed since then, and now Hidan was once again sporting the day to day High Priest's robes. The black cloth, and dark intricate design around the sleeves and trim, with of course those stupid rings stashed away safely. However, Hidan doubted people would be very inclined to listen to him with that morbid head piece. Granted he liked it, it would be too disturbing for people to have to speak to a man wearing a deer skull over his face.

Putting the head piece away with the rings, Hidan took the giant triple bladed scythe, and placed it securely on his back, his travel bag ready for his journey. Turning out of his room, he started down the narrow hallways, knowing he was supposed to meet with Gonzo and Yoko for one last time. Yoko should be back from the mission Hidan had sent her on by now so the timing should be about right.

He paused when he spotted the largely built man waiting for him at the end of the hallway, but it seemed he was alone. Approaching, Hidan lifted his hand, which caught Gonzo's attention. Turning to face his leader, the dark brow raised and he chuckled. "What Hidan-sama, not going all out this time? I figured you'd take the ceremonial robes. You seemed you like them."

Hidan rolled is eyes deeply before punching the larger man's shoulder. Not quite the behavior of a leader, but it wasn't news that Hidan's immaturity hadn't quite vanished just because he was a leader when it came to his social ways. "Bite me. Where's Yoko? I thought she would be back by now."

Gonzo lifted his shoulders for a shrug, but the blonde woman's voice could be heard. "I'm here! Sorry I'm late. Hidan-sama, before you go, you have to meet someone."

Meet someone? That was unexpected. What had Yoko been up to?

"The mission was successful," she started. Either she was trying to get business out of the way first, or she was trying to butter him up for something.

His head tilted curiously but then he could spot what she was talking about as she stepped to the side. Standing behind her leg had been a boy. There was a small cut on his forehead, blood having run down the side of his cheek. There was no way he could have been older than seven. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and he was looking in Hidan's general direction, but he wasn't looking at Hidan. His eyes seemed to just be staring at empty space, lost in his own thoughts. His skin was pale, and his clothes were torn, smelling of smoke. He had dark black hair that was slightly choppy at the top, his eyes were a bright hazel.

"What...where did you find him?"

Hidan approached the boy slowly, which he didn't even seem to notice. Yoko placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, seeming to try to stir him back to their reality, which seemed to work. His inhaled sharply through his nose, his eyes blinking quickly and turning towards Hidan, who was now on one knee to get a look at him. The boy only stared back silently.

Yoko offered a small smile before sliding her arm around the boy's shoulders, also lowering herself to one knee to be on his level. "His home had been destroyed, I think by bandits. I found him with who I assume was his mother but she was dead. He was just sitting there. He wasn't crying, making noise, just...sitting there."

Yoko had always held a soft spot in her heart for children, having very strong maternal instincts. However, Hidan knew what she wanted to ask, already having the answer in his mind. The boy did seem traumatized, but Hidan was curious about his coping mannerisms. He wasn't acting the way a normal child would act after loosing a parent.

"What's your name kid?" Hidan waited for an answer, and the boy's eyes lifted to meet his own, showing that he had heard, but no answer was given. Hidan's brow furrowed slightly, but he tried to be patient. "Well kid?" Still no answer. He was about to press once more, but the boy's mouth suddenly moved.

He muttered something, and Hidan leaned in to try to hear him, but he could only make out noise. "What?" However the boy seemed to just give up, his eyes dropping down to his feet. His cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, embarrassment seeming to flood him for being unable to speak.

Finally Yoko answered. "His name is Junichi. I finally just had to have him write it down." So the boy could write, and he obviously knew how to speak, but Hidan supposed the trauma perhaps had just shaken his tongue. Who could say. Whatever the cause, Hidan reached out and placed his hand on Junichi's shoulder near Yoko's hand. Once more their eyes met and he gave the boy's shoulder a squeeze.

"It'll be alright." He offered him a confident smirk, which caused Junichi's eyes to grow curious. "You stay here with us, Yoko here will take good care of you." This kid was young. Unlike Hidan, who had arrived at twelve, this kid could simply be raised at a late stage to be what a Jashinist is made of. Obviously Yoko had the same idea, so trying to find another seven year old in the ranks to watch them kill each other wasn't on the top of Hidan's priority list.

"Take him to a room, get him settled in, and I'll leave the rest to you Yoko. When I come back, I can spend some time with him myself. Will you cover basics with him in the meantime?"

Yoko offered a soft smile, moving to stand up, but kept her arm around Junichi. "Of course I will." She was always impressed by how Hidan was to the new members. Unlike Taromaru, Hidan was always interested in spending time with the new members. He wanted them to learn, he wanted to make sure for his own eyes that they were interested, and devout. Taromaru generally leaved that task totally up to the mentors, hearing everything through the grape vine and occasionally having an encounter. Hidan made it a point to track them down on his own accord.

Finally moving to stand up himself, Hidan stretched his arms over his head and sighed. "Okay, well you do that, and as for me, I am officially gone. I'll be back in time for the next ceremony but if anything happens and you need me, send out your summon." As much as Hidan disliked Yoko's favorite ape, the creature could track and could track quickly. Upon seeing it, Hidan would know at once an emergency was afoot. Giving their final goodbyes, Hidan turned away from the cave entrance and made his leave from the land of wind.

His journey's had taken him many places, and slowly Hidan found himself at the edge of rice country after having quite a few encounters with the public. Unfortunately out of many that had meet the raw end of his sacrifices, only two had been converted. However, he had to look at the bright side. Two men were now enlightened. So he had to be proud of that at least.

Feeling ready to stop for the evening, Hidan sighed and went to find a nice quiet spot to settle, but and not so nice and quiet noise assaulted his ears. It sounded damn near to an explosion, but not quiet. His head snapped to the direction of the noise and he could spy dark smoke rising only perhaps a half of a mile from where he stood. Now he knew. A battle was happening. Feeling alarmed and curious, Hidan turned his body towards the commotion and raced for the high cliff to look in on the action, perhaps make an entrance himself.

Pausing at the edge of the rocks, he peered down and was absolutely astounded. The near to explosion was all coming from the jutsu of a single man. Hidan watched as near to seven, eight, possibly ten opponents were dropping like flies as they were engulfed by a sea of flames. Flames that were being fanned and enlarged by a second sea of wind. Hidan's eyes trailed to the side, having to literally take a few steps backwards just because of how hot the great flames were. He followed the attack, but was even more shocked to see what was creating the attack.

Monsters. Giant black beasts that were made of some unknown substance. It looked like jet black slime, but it was too solid to be liquid...what they were made of he couldn't tell. There were two of them however. One creating the wind, one creating the fire. They stood there, totally focused on their task at hand. White masks with strange markings were covering their faces, and standing between them was a man. He too was not moving, but it looked like he didn't have to.

Perhaps these were his summons? Hidan crouched down, one to keep from being spotted, and two, the flames were starting to hurt his face. The rocks below him were also hot, but not enough to make Hidan want to move away any further. He couldn't see the man very well due to how large the monsters were. Damnit if they would only move.

It seemed like ages before the wind and fire finally stopped, the monsters finally moving closer to the man, but then Hidan witnessed something else that made his eyes widen is disbelief. The monsters suddenly moved as fast as lightening itself, literally seeming to wiggle and shrink to be sucked inside of the man's back, which Hidan could now see, the skin had been ripped and pulled open.

What intrigued Hidan the most was that no blood could be seen what so ever. The back's body seemed to spasm and shudder as though he were having a small seizure due to the monsters, but soon they were gone from sight. Only just as Hidan thought he couldn't be any more shocked, the man's skin moved on it's own, pulling itself together as tiny black strings...threads...something moved in seemingly practiced motions to sew the skin back together.

Hidan's eyes narrowed, moving closer to the edge of the rocks to see. The man's back, and his arms were covered in stitches...so they were threads. Is that what those monsters were made of too? Thousands of those tiny black threads? What was this man? Who was he?

Well...it didn't seem to matter anymore. Hidan sighed in disappointment, a disappointment more great than it should have been of course, as a blade was shoved into the strange man's back, by what looked like a frightened comrade of the now dead men. Hidan stood up fully, his brow furrowing. Well, if nothing else, Hidan could put that poor fool out of his misery. That puny sword would be nothing against his scythe he was certain. Especially if he was already shaken from watching all of his team fall as if they were nothing but insects.

Hidan moved none too quietly down the rocks, not exactly being a stealth fighter despite being a ninja. Only once again, he found himself in astonishment. He was only perhaps a few yards away from where the pair of men were, but as quickly as Hidan's eyes could even follow, perhaps faster, the swordsman was being impaled by...were those fingers?

Hidan stood with the scythe in his left hand as the swordsman fell limply to the ground, the sword clattering noisily. His eyes went to the man's blood soaked hand, the skin was dark, almost black. Not only this, but being so much closer, now Hidan could notice a pair of black rings around the man's wrist. Perhaps just birth markings. It didn't seem as though they were painted on in anyway that Hidan could tell. Hidan then watched curiously when the skin became the normal brownish colour like the rest of the man's body.

He stood staring, but then realized the man was staring back. Hidan lifted his eyes to meet the strangers. They were a mix of solid green irises, surrounded by a pinkish red where the white's should be. He looked so exotic. He couldn't see the rest of his face due to a mask that covered his entire head and nose. Hidan allowed his purple gaze to travel once more to take in what he assumed was a uniform. The pants and shirt were the same colour, and there were special looking white leggings over his shoes. Only it seemed that the shirt was made for his strange attacks.

At first Hidan had assumed the material was torn, but from the side stance the man had taken, Hidan could see the shirt was just made without a back...then it hit Hidan...this man had a very well developed, and very muscular back. His entire build seemed to be that way. Once again Hidan's eyes traveled up his body, and he noticed. The wound...should have been fatal...but it wasn't. How could this be? Was this man...like him? By Jashin he was! A pioneer in immortality. A strong one at that. What a powerhouse he was! Which such destructive, wide spread jutsu, oh the chaos he was capable of. What a Jashinist he would make!

Jumping the gun Hidan jumping the gun. He had to work to conceal his excitement but he couldn't. Before he was even aware, a wide smile was on his face, his eyes were widen, and the grip on his scythe trembled, soft giggles coming from the back of his throat.

Oddly enough the man hadn't done anything yet. He seemed baffled and perhaps slightly annoyed by Hidan judging from the scowl in his brow, but not enough to attack him. The entire time he had watched Hidan's expression twist from shock, to awe, to ecstatic, he had just stood there, uncertain how to really respond. Obviously he knew Hidan wasn't with the men that had attacked him in union, so perhaps that was why he wasn't wasting his time trying to fight him.

However, just before Hidan could bomb him with questions, the man turned away from him as if he couldn't be bothered by the likes of him. Hidan's jaw fell slack, what could have been words cutting off into a small noise of confusion. Why was he walking away!? He watched as the man picked up a black robe from the rocks, the robe being covered with red clouds. That robe...Hidan knew it from the stories that had been tossed around some of the villages. Akatsuki. Supposedly some evil, organization bent on destroying, or controlling the world. The difference being where you were, and who you asked. It seemed nobody really knew much of anything about them.

What Hidan did know, was that Akatsuki was obviously the organization that kept this man. This immortal, fuck-all shinobi. He said nothing to him however. If the man wouldn't even give him the time of day, it looked like Hidan was left with one choice. He'd follow him, find where he was going, and if it was where Hidan thought it was...he too would join Akatsuki. He could just think of it now. Akatsuki. Such a title would had already spread. Now perhaps, it could spread with little rumors of a Jashinist. Rumors were enough. He could spread the word this way! Perhaps if he stuck through it long enough, he could finally hope that the knowledge of Jashin would spread, and that way when he asked, he would find less and less answers revolving around 'No I have not heard, who is that?'

That and another point came up in his mind. He hadn't even considered the fact that being immortal meant he would someday outlive Yoko and Gonzo...all of his members...sure new members would come but...it would be lonely some days. This man would surely live as long as he did. Perhaps through Akatsuki he could get to know him. Have at least the knowledge that somewhere out there, somebody existed like him. It sounded good in his mind, but he had to admit, being ignored like this was rather annoying.

He watched the man leave him behind, but as soon as he was just barely out of sight, Hidan began to follow him at a nice, comfortable pace. The man seemed to be in no hurry what so ever, but neither was Hidan.

He was only vaguely annoyed at the walking because of how silent it was. If he were on his own, it wouldn't be so terribly because he could find ways to entertain himself within his thoughts. Only the potential for conversation was a ways off in front of him. Hidan knew that the man was aware of his presence. It also seemed that the man enjoyed keeping Hidan on his feet. Even if Hidan did zone out, every so often he would be sent diving into the ground, or off behind some form of cover due to a fire ball being thrown his way.

It blew, but at least it gave him some form of entertainment. At least until it seemed like the man had given up trying to shake Hidan. If Hidan could even call the half-assed attacks an attempt at really doing anything other than swatting at him as though he were a bothersome fly.

What annoyed him more than this was where they were. Amegakure. Rain bothered Hidan. He disliked being wet, he disliked being cold, and having his clothes cling to his body.

He followed the man, but then began slowly pulling back more so. He wanted time to at least eye his surroundings. It was the largest country Hidan had ever set foot in that was for sure. Being surrounded by wide open mountains and oceans of sand, this place felt slightly overwhelming.

Not only this...but now it looked like he would get to deal with antsy security. Of course...the leader of Amegakure, also the leader of Akatsuki was tight on security. Perfect. It seemed as though this was going to take longer than he expected, bu then again he wasn't certain what he expect. Certainly not to just walk into the country that was for sure.

He worked to conceal his temper as he was searched, questioned, searched again, and questioned some more. However, after a thorough, might as well have been, strip search, Hidan was allowed through. He knew right where he was going, and what he would be doing.

Pein; along with Konan firmly planted by his side, had welcomed Kakuzu back upon arrival before he received the news that his mission had been successful. After sending him back for some food and rest, relieving him of his normal duties as the accountant, Pein was just turning away to return to his own duties. That was of course before he noticed the intrusion of a man cloaked in thick black robes that were soaked to his skin.

He took in his appearance, the giant triple bladed scythe and the forehead protector around his neck, noting he was a shinobi. Silver slicked back hair, deep purple eyes, and a rosary around his neck. So he was a man of faith? His expression unchanged, Pein took the initiative to approach him, holding out his hand to signal for Konan to remain back for now. Her head lowered respectfully, and she remained silent.

"Might I ask why you are here? You do realize that you have in fact entered the head quarters of the Akatsuki?"

However when Hidan answered, he had to say he was taken aback, Konan's eyes briefly flashing a form of shock.

"I'm here to join the Akatsuki, why the fuck else would I have traveled here?"

Pein stared at the man. The man who obviously knew nothing of himself. He continued to move forward, standing only inches from the stranger. From here, Hidan's eyes widened just slightly. This man...had the rinnegan? Even Hidan knew about it. Hidan had always been a history fan and he had heard tales of the rinnegan, the potential one held when they had a pair. No wonder he was the leader of Akatsuki, and all of Amegakure. "We do not make it a habit to just accept whoever walks through that door. It is clear to me that you are ignorant to just who I am, and for that I will excuse your tone. However, you will not join this group unless I permit it. You will battle with one of our members. Not to the death, just so that I can assess your level personally. You are in luck that there has been a position recently opened, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Now tell me your name, and I will escort you to our training room."

Hidan listened, and would be a bold faced liar if he tried to say he wasn't the least bit intimidated. The man's stone cold expression bore right through him, and his monotone was enough to rattle his spine. Of course he would never show this and felt like he wanted to tell the man he wasn't afraid of him. Only even Hidan knew that would be foolish. "My name's Hidan...just what is it I call you exactly?"

Pein had started to turn away, but paused and turned his head to face Hidan once more. He didn't want to be rude by turning his back to him when answering a question. Powerful or no, Pein believed firmly in being a man of the people, and treating each member with respect. "I am called Pein. However members of Akatsuki refer to me simply as Leader-sama. I trust you to do the same Hidan-san. Now if you will follow me, I will summon someone for you to spare with."

Hidan's brows furrowed slightly, it seemed that aside from the act of intimidation earlier, this man wasn't interested in being rude or holding it against Hidan. Which was weird. He suppressed a snort at what he thought was a name that only a kid could be saddled with when their parents hated them, but said nothing. Wisely so. He followed Pein, but was confused when he just entered the training room. Didn't he say he was going to summon someone?

However, he was shocked when suddenly a third figure stepped into the room. Pein spoke again, stepping to the side to let them through. "Hidan-san, I would like to introduce you to Kisame Hoshigake. Kisame-san here has been one of our veteran members for quite some time now. He was one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, advanced in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and ex ANBU. I think he will be better suited to test your level if you do have what it takes to join Akatsuki."

Hidan had to tilt his head up in order to look at the man who approached him with a spring in his step, a wide smile on his face revealing rows of pointed teeth. His face was sharply angled and his skin from head to toe was a pale blue. His eyes were small and widely set, he even had gill like markings on the sides of his cheeks. Even his hair was blue and styled to a point. What was it supposed to be a fin or something to complete the shark look?

It was strange, this man seemed genuinely excited to be there. He carried a huge sword over his shoulder, the hilt was yellow with a small skull at the end of it, the rest was incredibly wide set and wrapped tightly in thick white bandages. However the end of the sword was exposed, revealing oddly purplish coloured...spines? Hidan couldn't tell.

Before he could even think to, the shark man known as Kisame spoke to him in a deep, but oddly light toned voice. "Hey there," he greeted. His tone was so...jolly as his weight shifted from one leg to the other. "So you think you're gonna join Akatsuki huh? Heh, heh. Aw this is gonna be fun. Not everyday someone grows the balls to actually come to us. So bro, let's get started then."

He pulled the large sword from his back, and almost within the same second, the large sword was heading right for Hidan. His eyes widened and he leapt backwards to avoid being hit. It only barely worked as he could feel the wind from the weapon assaulting his robes. He held the scythe tightly before moving to strike out towards the swordsman.

However, even at Hidan's level, he was not match for just how fast this man could move. Upon dodging, and trading blow for blow, Hidan found that he was slowly being forced in all directions, laughter bubbling up form the swordsman as he seemed to very well realize that he was dealing overwhelming blows towards Hidan. Then Hidan realized it. This man was playing with him. He wasn't even taking the fight seriously at all!

It was somehow insulting. Was he mocking him? "You son of a bitch!" he finally yelled. Who did this bastard think he was?

However the laughter only seemed to grow. "Oh badass, we got a badass over here!" He sounded as though he was just having a terrific time.

Hidan couldn't help but get angry. Dicking around, having a fucking party, and Hidan could barely keep up. All while the Leader was watching with a keen stare.

Suddenly as Hidan turned around, a large gush of water knocked him off of his feet, of course disappearing into the floor. He rolled slightly, turning his head in time to see Kisame's smiling face standing a few feet away from him, laughing loudly. So he really did take this all as just one big joke! Just splash him with some water and watch him fall on his ass?

Hidan was now confused as to if he should stay angry or if he should just be amazed. He didn't have much time to think before suddenly the man began making hand seals and slammed his palm to the ground, the familiar puff of smoke appearing as a small shark was now flailing around on the ground. He summoned a shark on solid land? Hidan stood to his feet, gripping the scythe tightly and watched as Kisame pick the animal up by the tail before rushing over towards him. He found himself standing there one moment, but within the next, his body was slammed up against the wall painfully, soon sliding to the floor as the scythe fell from his grip.

He tried to roll to get out of the way, but as he went to stand, he felt the same force being slammed on his back, forcing him back onto the floor. He rolled onto his back to see what was even happening and he realized...Kisame was now just beating his body, with the body of the shark.

He yelled out angrily and somehow managed to roll out of the way, pulling out one of the pikes and moving to try to hit the swordsman's leg. He would not be taken as a joke!

Kisame moved back of course, soon releasing the shark as it vanished. So it seemed the new guy was determined.

Hidan managed to see Pein from where he was standing, noting that even he seemed slightly unamused at all of the playing around. Only, instead of waiting as Kisame gripped his sword yet again, Hidan pulled out his second pike, extending the sharpened end to duel wield.

The laughter died down as Kisame now seemed genuinely interested. He charged forward, and once again blow for blow was exchanged. Hidan moved as fast and as hard as he could, trying to get in one hit. Just one. Sure Kisame hadn't hit him yet either, but he had been slammed with water, and an actual shark! He wanted a bit of revenge. Just one. However, his hopes for revenge was dashed as Kisame finally got the upper hand. He drew the sword in a horizontal cut, and this time, Hidan couldn't block. The swore tore into his side...but literally tore.

He fell over onto his back yet again, looking up as he watched blood dripping from the end of the giant sword. Kisame's grin widened as he boasted. "Yea, Samehada here? Doesn't cut like a normal sword. This boy here will shred you into a million pieces." However, Kisame gave him credit...this was the first officially counted strike that he had managed to land.

Pein even seemed to become re interested. Now the fight was beginning to become serious.

Hidan stood however, and bared his teeth. "Big deal! Bring it on mother fucker! I'll stick that sword up your giant blue ass!"

However the comment seemed to offend the other man. Only, it was an exaggeration offense meant to complete the dramatic threat. "You little jerk," Kisame pouted.

Once again the pair began to fight, Hidan trying to duck and dodge as much as he could, however, finally Kisame, drew Samehada behind his back, and brought it into a vertical cut swiftly, catching Hidan from his stomach, all the way up to his chest and throat.

Hidan's body flew up into the air, blood pouring from the wounds as the pikes were dropped. It seemed like ages before gravity summoned him back down onto the floor heavily. Both Pein and Kiasme watched, Kisame's smile shrinking a little. "Aww...well, he started out alright Leader-sama."

However Pein's eyes narrowed onto Hidan's body. It was still moving...standing. His eyes narrowed onto the wounds, Kisame also seeming surprised. Both eyes noted that yes in fact, this man should be dead. If nothing else from the deep tears in his throat.

"I am not done yet you over grown-" he was cut off of course by Pein's voice. "Alright, that's enough."

Kisame took a step away from Hidan, placing samehada back on his shoulder. Hidan turned to glare at both of the men before Pein took a step forward, moving to stand beside of Kisame. For a moment, he seemed to not know what to say. However an idea formed in his mind. Kakuzu had this bad habit of killing each partner he had been assigned to.

Granted the last partner Kakuzu had killed purely by accident. The pair had been partnered together for a few years on top of it. He had been well liked through the organization, treated everybody as if he had known them for his entire life, he was respectful to everybody, especially Pein and Konan, was a bit of a flirt among the ladies, even going as far as to leave Konan flowers ever so often, loved to drink; highballs being a constant favorite, was always happy, laughing, smiling, provided voluntary services throughout the village on an as needed basis whenever he could, was a fine shinobi, and had even earned Kakuzu's friendship. He loved to treat Kakuzu out to drinks, never took any of the man's general crankiness to heart, knew how to fight alongside him in order to preserve his own life, but also went out of his way to make certain Kakuzu was safe. However, as suspected, there was just one bad day when he was unable to get out of the way, due to Kakuzu's overly destructive, and nearly uncontrollable jutsu. A direct hit from false darkness had finally taken him down, but his even on his dying breath, he had told Kakuzu where to find a small amount of ryo he had in his nightstand, asking Kakuzu to treat himself to a drink, and to bring his body back to Amegakure. Which with a heavy heart, Kakuzu had done. It was a sad day in Akatsuki.

However, even though Pein knew Kakuzu would not want another partner, even though this one was the polar opposite of the last one, he would be able to complement Kakuzu's fighting style well. Well enough that Pein had one task left.

"I have seen all I need to see. Come along."

Hidan's brow furrowed but he collect his weapons and followed the leader through the base. He would have asked where they were going, but as they entered the kitchen of the base, then he spotted him. The same man he had followed here, who was currently in the process of pouring himself a cup of hot tea, the robe missing from his body.

"Kakuzu-san. I have someone for you to meet." Hidan blinked and tried to look beyond Pein's shoulder, but Kakuzu's reply caused him to pause, blinking in bewilderment.

"No." A sigh was Pein's answer before he stepped to the side, moving to put Hidan into view. "This is Hidan-san. He will be your partner from now on."


End file.
